Heami Lee is a photographer and director based in New York, working across commercial and fine art practices. Their personal work is drawn from their own life and experiences, reflecting who they are while exploring human connections, intimacy, and everyday experiences that shape how we live and relate to each other.

Currently in Berlin for an artist residency at GlogauAIR, Lee is developing a queer portrait project shaped by chance encounters and brief connections. Arriving without an established queer network, photographing strangers has become a way of learning the city through people rather than place. They navigate queer spaces both in person and online, exploring Berlin as they would a city they are only just beginning to know. For each portrait, they start by talking with subjects about themselves and queer Berlin, so the portrait grows out of the conversation.

Much of queer visual culture continues to be shaped by images that center gay white men, leaving many experiences and perspectives largely invisible. This project creates space for work that reflects Lee’s own perspective. As a queer immigrant and Asian American artist, Lee approaches Berlin from a position shaped by layered visibility. The portraits often resonate with those navigating multiple identities, borders, and forms of marginalization. The work sits alongside dominant images of queerness without trying to replace them, offering a point of view shaped by encounter, distance, and visibility.