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Queering the Marriage...

I’ve had the idea of recreating my parents’ wedding photo for a while. The idea was mainly spurred from wanting to create a retrospective of my life. A chronological art piece which queers the heteronormativity I’ve know. So I decided to start with the straightest convention, connected to myself, before I was even born. A holy matrimony between man and woman. Marriage. 

It’s a response to thinking about the future, imagining what my family could be like... so I must look back to reference from the only one I know. I’s supposed to be kind of funny? I do find it funny. It’s not too serious but it is a little. I think about the religion I grew up surrounded by, I think about love, I think about the past and future. Although it is queer, it’s not just that. 

It’s edited awfully and it’s unfinished. I don’t think it’s supposed to be polished and I don’t want it to be. It isn’t realism, it’s fantasy and shoddy. 

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Unfinished video stills, buzzcutting my hair. Continuing the transformation into my dad, I wanted to do something taking the piss out of masculine artist tropes. Smoking a cigarette as I cut my hair, wearing a shirt. It reminds me of Arctic monkeys, or Serge Gainsbourg or something.

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‘Divorcing from body’

If I want to queer a family narrative I must take on a role. I should preform. I want to recreate wedding photos to laugh/cry at the sacrament of marriage. I’ve decided to dress up as my mum and dad to do so. The first step is removing all my hair to become closer in image to my dad. It’s a ritual and a metamorphosis, cutting my hair. 

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Catherine Opie

I’m drawn to Opie’s self portraits when thinking about queering the family narrative. 

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Jo Spence 

Spence is an artist I have turned to when thinking about identity and family. She dresses up and recreates various family photos. There is an existentialist element to her photography, especially when the images are paired with these naive, inward rhetorics. There is also a campness in regards to the drag element. I love a lot of her photographs <3

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A painting I made thinking about family. I’ve become quite fond of this smiley face symbol. I used to draw it a lot in notebooks, it reminds me of a stretched/ distorted emoji

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Mum + Dad

I’m starting something new, thinking about my parents and marriage. I’ve been thinking about whether I’ll be a parent and queering the idea of marriage and divorce. The heteronormative conventions of a marriage are quite easy to make fun of. Having children, being a child, being a parent, masculinity, femininity, queerness.... being my own parent and my own child... 

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I experimented with different locations, I even used a backdrop at one stage. It became clear that displaying this piece in the garden would emphasise the idea of being rooted at home. 

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‘I won’t taste Vacillando’

I have finished! This piece received it’s title in response to lyrics by Linda Perhaps, who introduced me to the concept of Vacillando. This piece concludes my research and feelings. I reject the idea of drifting aimlessly, and am now anchored in my surroundings. My hand reaches the ground, and spreads out like roots in the earth. The podium above holds grass from a collection of common lands and my back garden. A nostalgic model of the home sits onto of the grass. The symbols of body, land and home are bound together in this piece. 

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Adapting my plan....

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Reflecting on final tutorial (14th May)

I presented to the group my plan for the final piece. Main thoughts discussed were:

The history of the grass is very important, how can I disclose this information?... Is it worth including in the title somehow?...

Ellie pointed out that location is going to be very important when presenting this work... I should test as many iterations as possible. 

It was mentioned that the imagery of my plan seems to work, but perhaps I could suggest my thoughts more concisely...

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Planning my final outcome.....

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Reflecting on my tutorial (7th May)

I presented the video documentation of ‘Little house in the garden’, the main things to consider were:

The audience received a ‘trippy’, ‘psychedelic’ vibe from the work. This mainly came from the stylised drawings and soft focus camera work. 

The inside seemed ‘almost religious’ or cult like. 

The various ways shown of the piece being viewed was questioned. Why was the viewer watching the home on the ground, and then as it was elevated?

My work feels homely and nostalgic according to the audience

Going forwards..... the way I think of different aspects of my practice seems very binary. It doesn't have to be as black and white as grass on the outside, drawings on the inside.... I need to continue working on the relationships between materials and concept.

I also think at times I become distracted by aesthetic. I might draw in a certain way because I think it looks nice, without considering what an audience may take from a specific style. 

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Close ups!

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Inner walls...

these are the inner walls of my little home. I’ve drawn from instinct!