'Rural Queer'

curated exhibition in February 2022. 3 artist. 2 photographers. 1 tattoo artist. all exploring queerness collectively.
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"Queer is exhilarating, like first kisses. Queer is secrecy - they do say coming out of the closet for a reason.
There is always a part of Queerness that is hidden. It is the opposite of how society was created and is still structured. Queer is a qualm.
The "ruralness" (otherness) of being Queer can be overwhelming. One can be remote in their identity, or they can move into the city and be visible to all. Half hidden form of visibility are suburbia bliss.
Our eyes are what help us make sense of the world. Each person views this life through a different lens. Any person who identifies as Queer has an experience that is their own.
Queer is a lens.
One which allows a person to realize themselves as queer and how it clashes with the societal standard of what it is to "be" normal. Queerness is the difference between me and you. It's an "otherness". You cannot possibly know what goes on inside of me. This exhibition focuses on the deconstruction of gender, sexuality, and relationships. Queer is an umbrella for anything that is not heteronormative, homonormative, or cisgendered.
Queer is a protest.
The "freaks" turn out to be the normal ones. Moments of overflowing and sometimes unbearable quantities of love, sex, and grief, are now all on display. The show is an insight to the different intricacies of being Queer and the intersectionality of all the other identities that a person holds.
What is queer? Is everyone queer? Are you queer?"
ARTIST
MICHAEL BOROWSKI (framed)
“SMALL TOWN SEX SHOPS”
“This series of photographs explores the location of sites of sexual desire in rural areas. In less populated areas, adult video stores are often located outside of towns, tucked away behind gas stations and truck stops. The Greek root of the word obscene means “off stage” and the locations of these shops reflect certain cultural attitudes towards sexuality. Rather than representing these structures as eyesores, I photograph them as symbols of proud deviance.”
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XAIO (SMILE) (unframed)
“RESTATED QUEERNESS- A JOURNEY OF QUEERNESS”
"What is queer for me? Queer is to be able to live, breathe, dance, to feel free, to feel alive. Queer is every good interaction, every good relationship, sunlight, raindrop, after and before the glance of rainbow. Queer is in frequency, in sparkles, queer is love, queer is routine. Queer is not bizarre; queer is the most essential and ordinary truth of enlightenment. Queer is every smile, every hug. Queer is awkward in front of photos. Queer is tear with happiness, depression, anxiety, falling apart, puzzling back together. Queer is the embrace of upfront life attitude. Queer is firm, queer is strong, queer is sincerity. Queer is seconds, minutes, and hour. Queer is gay, queer is more than gay, queer is you, queer is me, queer is us, queer is free.”
DAHLIA REISING (custom tattoo inkings)
“FLASH”
“The pieces in this collection are largely based on this devil character I often use in my tattoo flash.
A lot of what has caused my success as a professional artist are things that I was shamed for the majority of my life. To me, this collection is about celebrating shame and embracing how good it feels to be bad.”
Dahliareisingtattoo@gmail.com
IG: dahliareisingtattoo

interactive tv in exhibition. the living room asked guests to write on the tv, couch, and chair, giving people the opportunity to write what queerness was to them.