Some of you will know Darien from the community. For close to a decade, Darien Gomes has been bringing film to FND — roll after roll, developed in-house, returned and turned into something. On Thursday 15 October, that something goes on the walls for the first time. "Chocar", Darien's debut solo exhibition presented by Chuleo Club, opens at High Note. We sat down with Darien to find out more.

THE INTERVIEW

Tell us more about Chuleo Club and why you decided to exhibit Chocar with them?

Earlier in the year, Chuleo Club teamed up with the space that is High Note for a residency over the last few months. And as part of that residency and access to the event/art space, Chuleo Club wanted to use this opportunity to showcase more Latinx artists and creatives. And so I sent through an expression of interest, with references to my work as well. It was absolutely heartwarming to be accepted into the residency and also to be able to collaborate with another collective that I have close ties to in being able to showcase work that I've captured at Chuleo Club events as well.

This exhibition documents the underground queer club scene and portrait work — all shot on film. What made you want to make this body of work, and what does it mean to you to show it publicly for the first time?

At its core, revealing this body of work publicly is probably an insight into my community and the immense privilege I have of capturing the people in these spaces. At the intersection between the portraiture I practice with SWers and the underground queer club scene, is Queerness itself. Within SWers and the underground rave scenes of Naarm are where my chosen family exists. And at the crossroads of these two macrocosms, is where I find acceptance. The space to be myself, and to witness queerness be various amalgamations of itself. "Chocar" quite literally translates to — to crash or to collide. This exhibition is in fact a collision of two very different elements of my life and how they come together to form one. Many of these pictures highlight the people that I surround myself by, whether in the act of creating ethereal, cinematic art or in the act of release through movement, dance, love and laughter. The desire to create romantic dreamscapes has found life in the portraiture and community of people that I collaborate with. And similarly so in capturing the moody underground nature of Naarm's queer scenes has also coloured the experience of photography and how I engage with these spaces through my lens.

Photographing in club environments is technically difficult — low light, movement, film grain. What did shooting on film give this work that digital couldn't have?

Often the reality of shooting in this environment digitally means that you are able to shoot in a way so as to capture fine, crisp images. A digital camera helps you compensate with variable settings when your environment is lacking. But with film comes limitations, and sometimes with those limitations comes the practice of acceptance. Acceptance for what cannot be mitigated, and to work within the constraints of what is in your hands. Eventually you let go of the idea of capturing perfection. Even in the realm of capturing movement and dance, a blurred picture shot at 1/60 on Portra 800 means that there is a guaranteed motion blur in your result. But somehow when I look at the results, the blurs almost speak to the authenticity of what capturing movement feels like. I reflect on the imagery and how it transpires the liveliness of what a subject is experiencing when they achieve a state of flow in their own movement to music. The beauty of the final is consumed in its entirety in the imperfection of blurs and graininess, light leaks, hard contrasts, defined silhouettes and that further exacerbates the nostalgia that most people feel when looking at the results of film. Something as simple as red lighting in a club setting feels even more prevalent when you understand how the silver halides in Portra 800 respond to red lighting, creating effervescent glows and halos. And that translates across to the portraiture and my use of artificial lighting that adds to these misty eyed results.

These are intimate spaces and intimate subjects. How do you build trust with the people you photograph, and how does that show up in the images?

A lot of the time, these pictures tend to be very vulnerable. Regardless of whether that's inside a club or inside a studio. When it comes to portraiture and my approach to finding space to build trust, this often lies within the first interaction, especially with newer people/collaborations. As part of my process, I find it incredibly important to try and touch base in a face-to-face setting wherever possible and applicable. And all this does is leave room for two people to then share and speak to their ideas and visions in a space that hopefully leaves a little room to engage in a way where you can be yourself to the best of your ability, which is often a daunting task when engaging with a new person for the first time. I'd say I'm quite a quirky person in my own regards, but I've also understood in being able to show people who I am unabashedly, means that they also then feel safe enough in most cases to be themselves and reveal their inner child and playfulness. And that helps alleviate some of the formality that comes with these interactions. There's also a lot to be said when you are fortunate enough as I am to be established within a community that can provide referrals of their experience with you, especially when engaging with vulnerable communities such as queer folks and SWers. And this applies to queer spaces and being an established persona that people are familiar with. I tend to move amongst the crowd and capture pictures when something or someone catches my eye, but also apply the practice of approaching people to let them know they've been captured and check in with how they feel about that.

You've been bringing your film to FilmNeverDie for years, and now FND has printed the work for this exhibition. What does it mean to have a long-time partner that's developed your film be part of bringing it to the wall?

This partnership with FND is one that has existed for close to a decade now. I would not be where I am in my career as a photographer without the support this partnership has offered me. For almost 10 years now FND has been the source for all my film and developing needs. The presence of FND in my life is one that feels more like family and community than just a transactional partnership. For FND to be the official printers of my art for this exhibition almost feels like a sigh of relief. The weight of presenting my work for the first time in a public exhibition definitely feels stressful for a number of reasons. But being able to rely on FND with something as precious as the final prints is something that brings me so much peace of mind in the midst of trying to be as prepared as I can be for a debut exhibition. It also gives me the opportunity to showcase exactly how long and deeply this relationship has been around for. For lots of people who are aware of me as a film photographer, there is an almost synonymous awareness of FND and how the two entities are tied together. For many people who stumble across the body of work for the first time, it might leave an impression of how this partnership has come together.

What do you want people to feel when they walk into this exhibition?

I guess as always, if there is an objective with my photography, it is to tell stories. And as part of that storytelling, it also delivers an idea of what I'm most drawn to capturing in both portraiture and in queer spaces. When it comes to portraiture, often the themes I pursue are laden with mysticism, caught in the moody, cinematic style that is designed to invoke a sense of being transported to a dreamscape. For those with a keen eye, there are lots of details to observe in the sets that have been very carefully curated. The same can be said of the underground queer spaces and creating an idea for people to understand what queer joy looks and feels like within movement and social settings. And at large, these pictures speak to my relationship with film photography and how that intersects within my relationship to people and community as well.

Exhibition: Chocar by Darien Gomes
Presented by: Chuleo Club
Venue: High Note
Opening date: Thursday 15 October 2026
Address: 220 High St, Northcote VIC 3070
Opening time: 7PM

Come and see Darien's amazing work.