THE COLLECTIVE
THE COLLECTIVE is an original series by Steven Vasquez Lopez, realized in collaboration with photographer Brandon Roberts.
Steven Vasquez Lopez and Brandon Roberts are two San Francisco based artists whose collaboration on THE COLLECTIVE merges identity, performance, and play into a series of photographic works. Longtime friends and occasional creative partners, Lopez and Roberts bring together their distinct artistic practices to explore the performative nature of self-expression, queer identity, and the masks we wear—both literal and metaphorical.
Steven Vasquez Lopez is a multidisciplinary artist known for his labor-intensive hand-drawn ink works and, more recently, his spontaneous sculptural and digital portraiture. Raised in a vibrant Mexican household in Southern California, Lopez’s work is deeply rooted in cultural identity and personal history. During the pandemic, he pivoted toward digital self-portraiture, adorning himself in ski masks and elaborate, handcrafted soft sculpture headdresses. This shift allowed him to embrace immediacy, experimentation, and fluidity in his creative process.
Brandon Roberts, a San Francisco-based photographer and creator of the adventure-focused lifestyle brand BETTER RUGGED™, brings his own perspective on queer identity, geography, and visual storytelling to the collaboration. Originally from the Pacific Northwest, Roberts refined his artistic vision through the Rocky Mountain School of Photography, focusing on capturing the breadth of human experience. His work spans outdoor adventure, queer subcultures, and intimate explorations of self, offering a layered and emotionally charged perspective through the lens of photography.
THE COLLECTIVE is a series of seven images born from Lopez’s Yarn Portraits, further pushing his ongoing exploration of personal and collective identity. Incorporating bright neon masks, queer male bonding, silk scarves, costume jewelry, dress shoes, trench coats, bare chests, ribbons, rubber gloves, and gym shorts, the series explores the concept of "play"—a term referring to organic, experimental creation. This series is a bold, visually rich reimagining of the familiar, blending history, queerness, performance, and contemporary art. It challenges rigid ideas of gender, tradition, and identity while celebrating collectivity, transformation, and theatricality. With Roberts’ behind the camera and Lopez’s creative direction and styling, they collaboratively reimagined the essence of communal gathering and ritual, infusing it with a rich, queer perspective that amplifies forms of expression long present in subcultures—often marginalized, politically silenced, or pushed to the periphery of mainstream acceptance.
The series was brought to life in a space deeply embedded in San Francisco’s queer history: located in the North Beach neighborhood, the former Lusty Lady, a legendary peep show turned worker-owned cooperative that symbolized defiance, reinvention, and sexual liberation. This setting, generously offered by restaurateur Anna Weinberg, serves as both backdrop and catalyst for Lopez and Roberts' visual narrative—one that honors the past while reinterpreting it through contemporary queer storytelling.
The choice of this space was intentional—not just for its history, but for its raw, unfiltered presence. Its rough, masculine facade remained untouched; there was no need to stage or transform it. Instead, the artists reemerged within it, allowing the existing architecture to frame their vision. The space itself carries a timeless duality—both familiar and foreign, above ground yet underground, exposed yet hidden. It mirrors the lived experiences of queer subcultures, which have long existed in the margins, forced into the shadows, boxed up, silenced, or made invisible. But here, in THE COLLECTIVE, that which has been pushed into the darkness refuses to stay there. The work pulls it into the light, unapologetically reclaiming space, presence, and visibility.
Models: Aaron Wessel, Chris Williams, Christopher Reynolds, David Collins, Jimmy Castellucci, Monte DiPalma, Peter Willams, Ricky Rivas, Ross Allen Millam, Ruben Martinez, Timothy Rupp, Todd Johnson
Special thanks to Anna Weinberg, for graciously inviting us to explore this work in your beautiful space at Tosca (North Beach, San Francisco,CA). Your generosity and support mean so much, and we truly appreciate the opportunity to engage with the restaurant’s rich history and atmosphere.