The Wild Beasts (For Aaron), 2019

This archival inkjet print is float mounted and reverse beveled for a seamless appearance with a 1/8in. border between the print and the natural cherry frame. It does not come with glazing but glazing could be added. Please inquire. Edition 1 or 7 with 2 APs. Through The Wild Beasts I honor my ever-expanding queer chosen family and mentors. Working through the often violent and othering aspects of the lens and photographic histories, I erect each as a traditional still life studio setup at the threshold between the natural and human worlds. Each portrait is accompanied by a landscape view to challenge the ways that photographic histories have established visual categorizations of right and wrong, beautiful and ugly, wild and tamed. These environments speak to the character of each friend and to the use of Nature against queer people in most legal systems globally. Our basic human rights are consistently challenged in courts under the premise that we are “unnatural.” Through these images I rework photographic lineages and tools into spaces of power and love. Portrait of Aaron with seeding grasses and kudzu in a bondage-bound, hand-quilted vase made by Aaron. The backdrop, destroyed by heavy winds, shows the creeping kudzu which is the basis for his project involving southern queer connectivity. (Note: the second image is the landscape that accompanies this image. It is sold separately and is 40in h x 60in w, in an edition of 7 with 2 APs.)