Long description:

No Mames is a celebration of the flourishing LGBTQ+ individuals who are energizing the Mexico Citys art and design industries

'With subjects sometimes shot over several years, intimacy was built organically. This imbues the photos with a special familial quality, the kind of photos taken by a close friend or a lover. Thanks to Mayans careful touch, No Mames unfolds as a document of queer joy and togetherness.' - i-D

Through her reportage, fashion and portrait work, Israeli Moroccan photographer Mayan Toledano shares the stories of her queer community, exploring their interior lives withempathy and respect. Her photography is characterized by its colorful dreaminess, and she often captures her young subjects in their bedrooms. Although Toledano is basedin New York, she has found herself increasingly drawn to Mexico City, a place she considers a creative safe haven. No Mames pays tribute to the local LGBTQ artists, designers and creatives who are currently contributing to Mexican culturemany of whom are couples, roommates, childhood friends. The series portraiture follows a two-fold process:first, she captures her subjects as they present themselves in everyday life; then, she photographs them as they would like to appear, facilitating the construction of their fantasy selves. This collaborative act of wish-fulfillment sometimes coincideswith real-life transformations; for instance, she follows one of subjects, Havi, over the course of her gender transition, during which she underwent breast augmentation surgery.

'Immortalizing queer Mexican artists in places they can fully call their own, Toledano offers a vision of the world through a radical lens of play and unmistakable tenderness that perfectly embodies the books title.' - Hyperallergic

'In her new book, Mayan Toledano shows a tender side of the Mexico City queer scene' - Vogue (USA)

'Across her photography, Toledano takes effortlessly intimate portraits, from a separate daydream-like series of young couples in love to commissioned shoots for Nike and W magazine with celebrities including Bella Hadid and Paris Hilton... In Mexico City, Toledanos images became a mix of both candid and staged moments. Some, like a close-up of ethereal butterfly makeup on her friend Maria, are meant to evoke fantasy; other photographs are raw and tender.' - CNN

'Featuring intimate, joyous pictures of her queer friends and wider circle taken over the past six years, the book is an up-close-and-personal window into Mexico Citys LGBTQ+ community and scene... [No Mames] creates a photographic safe space for Mayans sitters among its spreads, giving what is usually community on the fringes of society the chance to be the focus of her lens and fully express themselves within its pages.' - Huck