Beginning in the 1980s, and especially in the 1990s, Volcano’s visual aesthetic was essential in providing a sense of self and community to the nascent queer movement. In retrospect, this was a time that has been a turning point in the understanding of sex, gender and sexuality; a queer politics that challenged the control of the rigid gender binary. In Volcano’s photographic aesthetic, sex and gender became malleable in ways that had previously been unthinkable. At this point of time, philosopher Judith Butler developed their highly influential theory of gender performativity that rejects stable gender binary and facilitates our understanding of gender as flexible; that gender can be expressed in multiple ways, beyond binary notions of “man” and “woman”. This theory underpins our ability to experience our lives – that take place beyond strict gender norms – as liveable, to use Butler’s term referring to life that is more than bearable. Volcano has visually documented this turning point and enhanced a sense of belonging through their radical aesthetic. Their portraits highlight the beauty of bodies which the mainstream society has seen as monstrous and deviant. Volcano’s work has fostered a desire to reflect love and beauty back at us, while redressing the ways of ostracizing queer and trans people in society.