We are excited to be including work by Joshua Evan in The Art of Being Queer Exhibition!
Artist Statement:
Using video, sound, photography, installation, and occasional forays in code, my work explores the convergence of digital technologies, popular culture and human behaviour. I am currently interested in the nature of public personas, our culture of curation, and the corruption of memory in an age of digital technology.
In our closely interconnected world there exists contested territories of the private and public, of intimacy and distance, of truth and deception. We look into the lives of others, we watch and we participate through devices which connect us to the hive. We socialise about intimate matters from our many points of physical disconnection, disclosing meaningful and personal information with strangers. We consume an idealistic and curated view of people's lives and world around us whilst broadcasting our own self-curated life. More than ever we are experiencing life through technology, but in this social arena, what is real?
Drawing from archives of often unrelated found and original source media, I create digital audio and visual montages through layering, manipulation and repeated experiments in process. Discovery is part of the process, imperfections are embraced and possibilities arise in the abilities of making. Collaborations with other artists also fuel my creative exploration.
My making process and the breadth of topics that interest me have led some people to call me a "digital magpie". That I cannot argue with. However while I have many parallel interests, what ties them together is that they talk about what it feels like to be alive today.
The Art of Being Queer Exhibition explores and celebrates queer artists and their work from around the globe. It provides an identity experience through which we assimilate the ongoing fight for queer representation not only in the art industry, but in mainstream media as a whole. This exhibition is curated by The Art of Being Queer, a growing organisation and podcast that highlights the censorship queer artists of all mediums face every day, and provides a platform on which these artists can showcase their work that is otherwise underrepresented, rejected, or hidden altogether.
The exhibition features multiple artists, all of whom have had different societal experiences and individual sets of struggles linked to their identity. Through art of many types, these brave artists demonstrate that identity, in its purest form, is not defined by biology or culture, but by what is felt within.
The exhibition takes place at Pineapple Black Gallery on the 27th, 28th and 29th of September during Middlesbrough Art Weekender. We would love for you to join us for our launch event on Friday 27th September, 5pm-8pm.
Middlesbrough Pop Up Pride is also taking place the same weekend. Throughout the afternoon, the Outdoor stage will be packed full of live performances. The line-up will be announced on the event page linked above! Alongside the performances, expect street theatre, arts and crafts, workshops and all the stalls and bars of Orange Pip Market. There will also be excellent nightlife events by Sapphires and Tiny through to the early hours.
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