My work for my Graduating Exhibition at the ANU School of Art and Design “I WANT YOU, BECAUSE I CAN’T HAVE YOU” was displayed digitally as a part of the 2021 SOA&D Grad show, which can be viewed here.
‘Basket’ - A Polari phrase relating to ‘bulge’
I WANT YOU, BECAUSE I CAN’T HAVE YOU
greyscale digital scans, 2021
greyscale digital scans, 2021
‘I want you, because I can’t have you’ is a series exploring the hardship created by the secrecy that defines the queer experience. Violent and promiscuous messages are communicated via ‘glyphs’, coded text that takes ‘Polari phrases’ (the phrases and language of gay subculture), real-life conversation extracts, and historical facts about anti-LGBT brutality in order to highlight the secrecy, hidden callousness, and discretion required as a part of coded communication within the queer experience. The coded text is combined with images from gay male-oriented pornographic publications from the 1970’s and early 2000’s. This contrasts a ‘hero’ image with the violent coded text, creating a toxic caricature of the exaggerated masculinity that gay men are often forced to emulate. The layers of the text and imagery are intended to place emphasis on the relationship between what is ‘in front’ and what is ‘behind’, forcing the viewer to ask the question, “Whose place is it to decode this work?”
The final series is comprised of 10 prints with the inclusion of an A4 ‘decode sheet’.
‘Decriminalised’ - two coded statements that outline the legality regarding ‘male homosexuality’ in the 80’s
‘What’s the colour of his eyes?’ - A polari phrase often used associated with penis size.
‘Polari’
‘Meat-rack’ - A Polari phrase used to describe a male brothel.
‘i want you, because i can’t have you’
‘Illuminated Manuscript’ - A page detailing Anti-LGBT police brutality in NSW.
‘Poof’
‘Ride em Cowboy’
‘Embrace’
‘Decode Sheet’
Below are images of the original installation idea for the physical grad show.
Install concept space #1
Install concept space #2