Side project
Video flip-through of Hardcover edition
Text in shown zines
Conversation (zine 02)
oh oops– crap, sorry
oh, no, it’s totally fine
please don’t worry about it
i know, but still
no, i know
i know, but like, still
yeah, i know… really.
okay
Head (zine 04)
that back-of-your-head is so cute.
fuzzy, but coarse, and plotted for fingers to run through
like a stop light.
so i can’t not see it, when doors open
or i enter rooms that are bigger than i expected,
and feel stung to see the fingers and faces
locked to the other side
of that wonderful back-of-your-head.
On sex (zine 07)
Ohmygosh– that’s such a good question.
Well, let me think. You know, I’m afraid to answer.
It’s so close to home, and honestly
I don’t know if I have ever personally addressed it…
I mean,
I see it everywhere and all I can think is,
I wish I could just play along…
Accompanied text from the solo exhibition, Opening Echoes:
This installation pays homage to the eclectic history of queer zine culture, an era when LGBTQ+ people relied on an underground network of diverse and artistic magazines to connect their community. Often sexually explicit, but full of candid humor and inclusive journalism, the zines were produced frequently and distributed by hand. The DIY nature of these materials provided a sense of ownership to those who felt ‘othered’ by society and gave them the opportunity to build a unique culture parallel to the mainstream. As someone who identifies as a ‘side’–a term used to describe a person in the queer community who is not categorized as either a top, bottom, or vers–I draw much inspiration from the personal accounts found in these zines. “Side Project” retools this method of storytelling to chronicle a controversial six months when my partner and I “opened” our relationship, a decision made to provide him what I couldn’t seem to otherwise. The zines are busy, loud, and convoluted short sequences that wed journal-like entries from nights of high tension to photographs that tumble over one another, each yearning to be seen and rationalized as their own scene. The words and phrases that wind through the pages are a unity of frazzled thoughts, hypothetical conversations, and soured mantras that directed the creation of each issue. When viewed in sequence, they narrate the process of confronting shame and eventually, learning to move forward.