Graduation Year

2023

Document Type

Campus Only Senior Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Department

Art

Reader 1

Professor Aly Ogasian

Reader 2

Professor Adam Davis

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Terms of Use for work posted in Scholarship@Claremont.

Abstract

As a queer artist and biologist, I am intrigued by the inherent fluidity and intersections of my identities, especially in the ways they defy typical representations. Within/Between draws on the joy, wonder, and curiosity inherent to both biological research and queer communities. It reframes the way we represent the viscera of the body and the emotions of queerness, pushing back against narratives of discomfort and disgust by exploring the membranes between the internal and external, delicate and strong, and beautiful and grotesque.

My work uses elements of queer signaling to engage with historical perceptions of queerness, and references textures found in internal organs that have surprising beauty and intricacy. These pieces are playfully intertwined within a larger sculptural piece to form a system, drawing on the communities and connections that come together to make up our lived experiences.

This installation explores many materials and processes, including metalworking, ceramic forms, encaustic wax, and found scientific glassware. It welcomes viewers into worlds that are typically avoided, allowing them to experience the beauty and joy that exists even within discomfort. This experience becomes more powerful when these feelings coexist. Viewers are encouraged to touch the details and textures of the different elements, engaging directly with this shifting of traditional representations in order to produce new and potentially unexpected narratives.

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