Mother Toile: A study in print
During the first half of my spring semester 2024, I focused heavily on researching the history of gender performance specifically in a political and social context. My search was for the rich culture associated with these performers, and their lives in and out of gender performance.
By taking a look at the deep-rooted gender roles within America, I unveiled the screen behind those that didn’t fit into one box or the other. The misfits, the “perverted”, the sick, the hated.
Carrying stories passed from one generation of queer storytellers to the next is a fragile task that has been beaten and severed by the continuous legislation acting as a barrier to queer speech and life.
Paying homage to the beauty, grace, and quality of performance delivered by queens, kings, and artistry breaking beyond the bounds is one of the many ways I can use my life to carry the voices of queer activism before me.
A comparison of Drag artistry.
Photo of William Dorsey Swann, the first self-proclaimed drag queen. (March 1860 – c. December 23, 1925) Swann was a previously enslaved person in America under Ann Murray of Hancock, Maryland.
Print Development
The first print, Mother Toile, is to respect the elegance and glamour of gender performance specifically in theater and midnight shows held during the pansy craze of the 1920’s.
The second, titled Divine Intervention, is to respect the activists, rebels, and revolutionaries who have used shock value to call attention to the queer liberation movement. Characters like Divine, were some of the first drag performances that entered common discussion amongst mass crowds both inside and outside of the LGBTQIA+ scope. Divine specifically used anti-religious themes to position herself as “outlandish” and “disgusting” only to have these same people captivated by the performance.
Mother Toile, 2024
Divine Intervention, 2024