Pride month is a time to celebrate the LGBT community, but it also serves as an opportunity to counteract homophobic attitudes. That's why Smirnoff has collected a group of artists for its #ChooseLove campaign who are turning hateful social media comments into humorous works of art.

The LGBT anti-violence charity Galop released a report that found one in three members of the LGBT community have experienced online abuse due to their sexual orientation or gender identity, with the numbers actually having increased over the past year.

During this year's Pride season, Smirnoff will extract abusive comments that people post online and respond to them through works of art, in the hopes of using positivity to provoke thought.

Chris Laidlaw, Head of Smirnoff Europe, says he hopes the campaign will encourage "a dialogue of understanding, respect and compassion in both social media and wider society," adding that "by collectively taking action, we can all spread a message of inclusivity, diversity and love."

Ricardo Bessa, one of the artists taking part in the campaign, spoke with Gay Times about the challenge of creating meaningful responses that were able to be lighthearted without minimizing the underlying problem of homophobia.

"I didn’t want to take on a project that would downplay a serious issue and gloss over it, and I wouldn’t have done so if I had felt Smirnoff wouldn’t be respectful of that," he said. "So it’s been a balancing act between staying positive without making light of homophobia. I want to make sure that, however I respond to these, whether it be sassy or more introspective, I keep in mind how toxic this position is."

Some of the art created for the #ChooseLove campaign will be featured in an exhibition on July 6-7 as part of the Pride in London Festival ahead of London's Pride Parade.