When his mother mentioned that he had an uncle who may have been gay, who died soon after he was born, Matthew Finley – who had struggled to come out to a disapproving family – decided to create his story. Rather than costuming a sitter, he turned to the honesty of vernacular photography, buying images on eBay and casting an ‘average dark-haired guy’ as his Uncle Ken across photos from around the world. With over 100 images organised chronologically, the project became Uncle Ken’s vintage photo album, as if he had made it, completed by three letters: his first heartbreak, a lonely note from the Navy, and one from Grant, his fiancé, the night before their wedding. Fictional, the work speaks to the lack of positive queer stories from our past: an alternate history where fluidity in gender and sexuality is the norm, full of acceptance, friends and love.