Massimo Greco (they/them)
& Silas Sims (they/them)

@moss.pic
@silas.sims.photo

About the Artists:
Massimo Greco and Silas Sims are queer artists and collaborators based in New York, whose work delves into the intersections of identity, desire, and digital expression. Blending photography, VFX, and fine art, their practice explores the performative nature of identity in contemporary queer culture, crafting evocative imagery that challenges conventions of beauty, intimacy, and self-mythology.

Both graduates of the Rochester Institute of Technology with BFAs in Photographic and Imaging Arts, Massimo Greco and Silas Sims have also become deeply involved in Rochester city’s vibrant queer community, finding inspiration and collaboration among local artists, performers, and organizers. Engaging with collectives like Juice Box and Body Language, they immersed themselves in Rochester’s underground queer nightlife and activist spaces, where performance, visual art, and community-building intersected. These experiences not only shaped their artistic voices but also reinforced their commitment to creating work that reflects the radical joy, resilience, and defiance found within queer spaces.

Together, their collaborations push the limits of visual storytelling, constructing hyperreal worlds where queerness is both an act of defiance and devotion. Through their shared fascination with iconography, fantasy, and the erotic, Greco and Sims create work that is unapologetic, immersive, and transformative—offering spaces where desire, power, and identity are redefined beyond societal constraints.

Exhibition Piece:
“Holy Mountain” / 2024

About the Artwork:
From Massimo: My work exists at the intersection of queerness, fantasy, and transformation. The images I create are not just visual compositions — they’re portals into alternate realities where identity is fluid, power is reimagined, and the boundaries between the digital and physical are deliberately blurred. I’m deeply interested in how performance, myth, and the surreal can be used to rewrite dominant narratives and open space for more expansive queer futures. A central force in my image-making is iconography — both in the traditional sense and as it lives and evolves within queer culture. Queerness has always created its own icons: figures, poses, silhouettes, symbols, and archetypes that hold power, signal belonging, and carry deep emotional and political resonance. I’m drawn to the way queer communities create visual language from what’s been denied to them — reclaiming the divine, the glamorous, the monstrous, and the transcendent. That drive informs how I build each image: not just to depict, but to mythologize — to construct icons for new ways of being. Technically, my process blends photography, CGI, VFX, and experimental staging. Often, the original image is just the starting point. From there, I digitally sculpt new forms, composite impossible landscapes, and manipulate light, texture, and motion to evoke a sense of both familiarity and otherworldliness. Collaboration is also central — especially with other queer creatives, dancers, and performers whose presence shapes the energy of the final work. What I want folks to know is that every image is an act of world-building. It’s not about representation alone — it’s about creating an ecosystem where queer bodies and spirits are not just included but centered, exalted, and transformed into something mythic, powerful, and free.

From Silas: My work in this show explores queer identity as something sacred, powerful, and visible. In this collection, my work moves between worlds, on one hand, intimate mythologies where queer identities become sacred and larger than life, crafted with light, styling, and digital layers. On the other, straightforward portraits of large groups of queer individuals, grounded in realness and community. Together, these images honor the many ways queerness is seen and felt, both as personal stories and collective presence.