We’re Loving These Photoshopped Portraits of Queer Music Icons With Their Younger Selves
If George Michael was able to sit down with his younger self, what do you think they’d chat about? What about Freddie Mercury? Or David Bowie? Or Madonna? A series of amazing portraits we stumbled across online has left us asking that very question. Each one depicts a famous, beloved musician with their younger self, sometimes up to decades younger. And our favorite shots in the series, which we’ve included below, happen to depict queer music icons.
Among the queer music icons who have portraits in the series are musical greats like Boy George, David Bowie, Cher, Cyndi Lauper and Whitney Houston.
Some of these icons are queer themselves, and some are not, but all of them have had a huge impact on music and the LGBTQ community. Many of them have provided the soundtrack to our lives.
As some of the musicians included in the portraits are no longer with us — many of whom left this earth way too soon — these photos also raise interesting questions about the fleeting nature of mortality. In a way they act as reminders of how important it is to live life to its fullest, always. All of these musical artists accomplished so much, but what else would they have delivered if given the time?
These portraits were created by a guy named Ard Gelinck, who you can find on Instagram here. (Note that his work consists of “then and now portraits” with all sorts of celebrities, not just these queer music icons.
Check out these great photoshopped portraits of our favorite queer music icons below:
Freddie Mercury
George Michael
David Bowie
Madonna
Whitney Houston
Tina Turner
Cher
Aretha Franklin
Cyndi Lauper
Annie Lennox
Agnetha Fältskog of ABBA
Britney Spears
Barbra Streisand
Robbie Williams
Beyoncé
Boy George
