This is what has brought its community together to create ‘Yes, I can see the stars’ – a fundraising effort through art to save a space that, as Joyes notes, is an ‘essential’ part of Glasgow’s Queer community. (You can support them directly online through membership on Ko-fi.) To spotlight everything that Bonjour has to offer and celebrate the publication of its limited-edition newspaper, we worked with them and Tom Joyes to share their project across Glasgow’s streets.

Storying the communal experience of Bonjour through a gorgeous ‘90s-inspired shoot that brought together many of its communities’ talents, the models, hair, make-up, photography, and styling bring the essence of the space to posters. Cosmic, blissfully hazy, and blending the future and the past – ‘Yes, I can see the stars’ evokes awe, excitement, confidence, and defiance. Showcased on our street poster sites across the city, the city became Bonjour’s own – just as it should be.

We spoke to Tom Joyes about the project, the process, and what it meant.

‘Yes, I can see the stars’ is an absolutely beautiful project and concept. Where did the idea come from, and what were the inspirations?

Tom Joyes: The project originated as I wanted to create a series of images that would assist in Bonjour’s recent fundraising efforts. The bar is an essential and active part of the Queer community in Glasgow and personally a space I often go to when I’m on a night out. Bonjour is fun, welcoming and knows how to throw a memorable party, and the images reflect that. It was important they felt authentic, so the lovely people photographed are either members of the Bonjour co-operative or work at Bonjour. In terms of visual inspiration, the direction of photography and styling are a throwback to cult ’90s magazine covers and rave culture. The expressions are candid and are like freezeframe moments of a night out – think shouting to order a drink at the bar or spotting someone gossiping in the smoking area.

The shoot pulls together a lot of the Bonjour community’s talents – are you able to tell us a bit more about the team and the collaborative process? 

TJ: The project was very collaborative from the start and was made possible by a team of super lovely people. Everyone on the team goes to Bonjour and is Glasgow-based, so it felt very natural and fun to work on. Izzy Leach did an incredible job of the photography, capturing everyone so beautifully and introducing bold colour splashes with coloured light in the dark room. For myself, I worked on direction and graphic design, and in the past, I’ve worked on several editorial shoots as Art Director of Elephant Magazine. MV Brown was on make-up and perfectly translated the rave theme, with stick-on stars, studded brows, and air-brushed designs. Ponyboy, who were our hair stylists, have done several showcases with Bonjour and always manifest editorial hair fantasies. Suki Hollywood, who works at Bonjour (and is photographed with the red jewel tears), wrote a touching piece of poetry based on a semi-fictional night in the club, giving us inspiration for the project title. Lastly, the individuals photographed are really the true ‘stars’ of the project and brought so much joy to the shoot, and we’re glad to have captured that. 

What was it like having the project take over the streets of Glasgow? 

TJ: Surreal! I loved spotting passing glimpses of our posters from the bus, then immediately jumping off at the next stop and running to get a closer look. Izzy and I, of course, did the obligatory selfie shoot in front of the huge campaign at Scotland Street, however these embarrassing images will fortunately never see the light of day. I’d really like to thank BUILDHOLLYWOOD and Jack Arts for their support in bringing Bonjour to the streets. It’s been humbling to see Glasgow’s Queer community take over public space in such a direct and fabulous way.