Body Language
Sian KellyExhibition Opening February 5th, 6 PM
Exhibition Continues 5th February- 22nd February 2020
The progression of the concept of gender in Western philosophy and pedagogy has, over recent decades, reached a point of cultural understanding that sees it increasingly liberated from the restraints of biological sex. However, the body is a site in Western art that is historically riddled with corporeal symbolism pertaining to a specifically binary model of gender.
How can one present trans/non-binary bodies to an audience that leans upon a history of binary gender representation, and achieve a readability that promotes gender-queer discourse? How can arts practices push up against spectacularity and gain autonomy?
It is in the space between embodiment and legibility that Body Language is situated. The result of- and extension from- my 2019 Honours body of work, Body Language draws upon my own experience of bodily reception and misgendering as a non-binary artist. It manifests itself through the lens of expanded drawing, as a performance, sculpture and installation work that interrogates non-binary embodiment, abstraction as a method of queering the body, and the body’s agency as both a site and medium to discuss queer theory and trans politics.
Body Language Room Sheet (opens in new window)
