'To Die Alive' conjures a hedonistic fever dream of Fire Island’s historic gay communities. The book contains 128 photographs by New York artist Matthew Leifheit taken by night over the past five years. The pictures show a world of desire layered in history, including the Ice Palace bar’s infamous underwear party, the men-only Belvedere Guesthouse, clandestine encounters in the Meat Rack, and landscapes in all seasons of the island’s delicate maritime forest.
The wide-ranging subjects of Leifheit’s portraits are the intergenerational community who come to the island for refuge or employment, ranging from sugar daddies to bartenders and sex workers. The series takes the form of a tragedy, combining many nights and many histories to form an endless night of sex, death, and evolution towards new definitions of queerness.
