April 13 - 16
Wig Reveal
2022
My hair 2 years growth, Tyler Merch, 21inx10inx9in
Wrack
2022
Neoprene, Hot glue, Ostrich Feathers (not chicken), Metal wrack, Crayola Marker, Quilting Pins, Cotton, Wigs,Velcro. 72inx82inx40in
Artist Statement
I create objects that explore ideas of Queerness, Gayness, class, and pop culture. I am fascinated by the trappings of performance and want to highlight the backstage, floors, and walls of performance spaces. My father owns a costume shop, and so much of my life was piecing together the identities that had transformed themselves in his dressing rooms from what was left behind. This familiarity and interaction with transformation is what I use to understand the current shift from Queerness to Gayness that I am currently observing. Drawing on popular gay icons and TV shows, I make costumes similar to what I would find on my dad’s racks. I use costume shop racks to create an archive and show the timeline of Gayness absorbing Queerness into the greater heteronormative capitalist culture– hard-bodied muscle men become soft, empty mascot-vessels;feather boas become an orgy of hands that reach out to drag you Gay hell. These racks can be orginized and reorganized similarly to how one would pull costumes for a show, highlighting the sticky and complicated in-between nature of Gayness and Queerness.