INFO
Kiernan Francis is a filmmaker, photographer, stylist, and casting director based in New York City. His work explores the psychological sensations of urban youth and their material manifestations. Having exhibited video and photo works in New York City, Miami, Italy, and France by the age of 22, Kiernan’s transdisciplinary practice speaks to outsiders, ravers, and Black youth worldwide. Francis’ all-encompassing practice is initiated through street scouting which lends itself to his film, video, and photographic work. He regularly hosts underground parties in Brooklyn and Manhattan called POLO with many young scenesters in attendance and on lineups. The party’s name speaks to the cultural double entendre of the eponymous fashion staple, speaking to both high and low culture. As a member of this community, Kiernan’s work offers a dynamic personal, honest, and strikingly visceral look into club scene subculture.In 2022, The Public Works Administration Gallery presented Trade Winds, White Heat, Francis’ inaugural solo exhibition of digital media art and video works. The immersive exhibition received press coverage from NY Magazine where Francis was compared to the likes of Ryan Trecartin and Richard Linklater. He has produced content and collaborated with clients including Anna Bolina, Calvin Klein, Celine, DAZED, SSENSE, Tommy Hilfiger, and VMAN. Francis is a frequent collaborator with the New York-based music duo, Club Eat, and has worked with musicians at Universal Music Group and Mad Decent. His fashion casting work has received media attention from Hypebeast, Vogue, and Visual Tales. Currently, Francis is in the post-production process a new film funded by New York State Council on the Arts to be exhibited in 2024.
Kiernan Francis’ most recent film, Trial Period, set in New York’s queer underground club scene explores cultural and erotic exploitation. The film is a sensitive exploration of club culture, performance, as well as minoritarian spaces being fetishized and mainstreamed. As the music pulsates and bodies trek from parties to after-parties, nights become days, and the truth is revealed. The film examines the complexities surrounding Black and queer identity through formal qualities and iconography speaking to the troubling insecurity of young men. Starring multi-hyphenate nightlife personalities and activists, Trial Period is an immersive visualization of the experiences of queer life in New York City. Now streaming on The Criterion Channel.
Also recently, Kiernan’s film Fashion Year premiered at SYSTEMA in Marseille in 2023 as a 6-channel exhibition. It screened in NYC later that year at PWA's Homecoming group exhibition, and later in 2024 in Berlin. Fashion Year is a sensitive observation of fashion sets in relation to feelings of loneliness, club culture, and performance. The film displays sensitive masculinity and fear as the camera flashes upon half-nude bodies drenched in Hawaiian Punch. Fashion Year also idealizes a world where many more high fashion models are transgender.
List of clients & features includes Calvin Klein, Celine, Dazed, Document Journal, FADER, HYPEBEAST, INTERVIEW, NYLON, OFFICE, Pitchfork, RE-EDITION, SKIMS, SP5DER, SPIN, SSENSE, Tibi, Tommy Hilfiger, Universal Music Group, Vogue Magazine, and Warby Parker.
All inquiries: contact@kiernanfrancis.com