Steve Sumpton’s recent photography series explores the nature of the first encounter. Working in predominantly digital color photography, the artist aims to identify “the impact perceptions play in forming human identity.” Sumpton’s images exude both nostalgia and loneliness. Inspired by the triumphs and adversities the LGBTI community faces, the artist perpetually isolates his subjects through body language, gaze, or physical distance. Nonetheless, the settings of his images emanate an eerie familiarity; surely, we as an audience have sat in Sumpton’s empty diner or palm-fronded motel room before. The artist currently resides in Melbourne, Australia.