Metropolis Art Gallery is excited to present ‘Glitter in my wounds’, an exhibition showcasing queer artists, named after the poem by Caconrad which is about the fetishization and sexualisation of queerness and queer people.
The author rejects this, making it clear that queer people do not exist to play the role of gay friends or any other stereotype. Opening on the 28th of July the exhibition aims to do just that; provide a space for the participating artists to showcase queerness in all its forms void of any stereotypes.
Elizabeth Leigh writes punchy slogans on ceramic plates inspired by slogans seen and heard at protests and conversations with friends.
Jade Radley and Elouise Spooner both explore girlhood and what it means to be feminine in their work. Radley draws from her childhood where she was conflicted between the notions of femininity that she was being fed and how she actually felt. Spooner’s sculptural work is eerie, she uses striking colours to attract the viewer but upon closer inspection, her work deals with rebellion and mental health.
Similarly, Sarah James stated that ‘colour and horror’ are her favourite things. James uses bold colours to depict subversive scenes.
Both multi-disciplinary artists; Georgia Hodierne uses myth to satirise and challenge language and gender roles and Isha McCulloch draws inspiration from her Caribbean heritage and conversations with her family to explore memory and mental health. Inspired by pop artists, Jared Orlin uses the bold colours of the different LGBTQ+ flags as the backdrop for striking slogans. Jason Keehn is a self- taught queer artist who explores the depth of human emotion and troubles in his surreal lead pencil drawings. Malta-born Mario Lautier Vella explores the uncanny in daily life and the distance between the public and private in his work.
Max Maguire’s work is poignant, it explores the transphobia he experienced whilst studying at university here in Brighton. Paul Bullen is a queer choreographer who uses performance to tackle taboo subjects around queerness, whilst Rin Coppola tackles queerhood and grief. Melanie Kane aims to open a conversation amongst viewers about the gender spectrum. Steven Williams draws inspiration from his travels and popular queer culture to make art often rooted in the style of cartoons he enjoyed as a child. Tamara Berger satirises stereotypes of masculinity and femininity and Tamsi Pearl explores gender dysphoria and shame around being transgender.
This exhibition aims to provide a space for queer art to exist in all its forms, celebrating and depicting indulgence and fun but also the everyday experiences of being queer and the struggle of it too.
- CAConrad has worked with the ancient technologies of poetry and ritual since 1975. As a young poet, CA lived in Philadelphia, where they lost many loved ones to the AIDS crisis, as documented in the essay, “SIN BUG: AIDS, Poetry, and Queer Resilience in Philadelphia.” The center of the Philadelphia poetry community at the time was Etheridge Knight, Sonia Sanchez, Essex Hemphill, and Gil Ott. CA’s other influences include Emily Dickinson, Audre Lorde, Eileen Myles, Will Alexander, and Alice Notley.
To know more about her extraordinary work visit her website here.
Metropolis Contemporary Art Gallery 