My experience exhibiting at Leeds Art Gallery

Can you please tell us about the process of being selected for the Leeds Artists Show?

At first, Leeds Art Gallery emailed me to know more information about the piece I had submitted and pictures in closer detail. I originally submitted a different piece to the one that is being shown. After a conversation where it was decided that my initial project was not going to fit their criteria, they asked if I had anything else I would like to show instead, since they were still really keen to have my work involved. So I sent them a few options to choose from and they decided on the quilted banner shown in the exhibition. I really appreciated that they wanted to still find a way to have my work in the show and I'm so proud to see it on display.

What is your contribution to the exhibition and what inspired it?

My art piece is a small banner-style piece made from a mixture of digitally printed fabric featuring photographs from historical pride marches, pages from vintage gay magazines, and vintage images of gay men in leather. I also used screen-printed fabric printed with a collage made up of the imagery from vintage gay magazines and gay motorcycle club booklets. These fabrics were then cut and pieced together to create a backdrop for the words "No Pride in Assimilation" in black leather with a pink triangle in the centre. 

It explores and celebrates the history of gay leather fetishism and the importance of understanding our history as LGBTQ+ people today. It is a call to resist the push to become assimilated by a heteronormative society, and more importantly, to resist the push to make others do so, in order to make the community more palatable.

Since making this piece, I have discovered this quote from Catherine Opie in conversation with Douglas Crimp, which really expresses a lot of what drove me in the process of creating this work and others: “I made it at a time when I was really angry with the direction of gay and lesbian politics in America, and my anger was exactly about questions of normal and abnormal. At the march on Washington for lesbian and gay rights in 1993, we were all suddenly supposed to appear normal. ‘Don’t include the leather community because they’re abnormal.’ It created a huge division in the gay community.” (Catherine Opie and Douglas Crimp in conversation (2008), in John Welchman, ed, the aesthetics of risk (Zurich:: JRP/Ringier, 2008) 299-313).

How did you decide to study Fine Art at Leeds Beckett, can you tell me more about your connection to fine art?

I decided to study Fine Art at Leeds Beckett as I wanted to have flexibility around ways of working. When researching the course and attending the interview, I felt that Leeds Beckett would suit my requirements. I found that some of the other courses I had considered wanted students to specialise in a specific medium and felt quite rigid in this regard, which was definitely not something that would suit my approach to my practice. I was also looking for the option to study part-time. And although I started the course as a full-time student, I went part-time after my first year. 

I would say my connection to fine art and what drew me to the subject would mostly be the variety of what it can encompass and the freedom that it provides. My practice is very research-based and having the freedom to explore it with few barriers to the form it can take is very helpful within an academic framework.

What about the next steps, are you working on anything exciting at the moment?

I'm currently preparing to deliver the originally submitted piece to be shown in the Sunny Bank Mills Ones to Watch exhibition. 

I’m also working with Hold It Up Collective on a large scale project to celebrate 20 years since the removal of Section 28, a law which between 1988 and 2003 prohibited the promotion of homosexuality by local authorities. The wording of the law was incredibly vague, and no prosecutions were ever made using it. But the vagueness of the law and the general climate of hostility spread a lot of fear and lead to a lot of people not feeling able to discuss any issues related to LGBTQ+ people within schools and other local authorities. 

We feel the effects of this time can still be felt today. And the current political climate feels as if something like this could come around again as there was a recent petition put to the government to prohibit the discussion of topics relating to LGBT people in schools. The project is planned to be a series of workshops, events, talks and exhibitions which explore different aspects of this area of history.

And how do you find inspiration for your work?

A lot of the inspiration behind my work comes from my research into queer history, my personal archive of vintage gay magazines, and other ephemera as well as archives in general. I also find within my historical research a lot of parallels with the present day and, where appropriate, will link these within my practice. 

An overarching theme within my work is uncovering and exploring areas of queer history, which are often discarded or left uncovered due to being perceived as bringing the community into a bad light. It is my view that this isn't the case and that within these areas of history that can be seen as seedy or taboo. Valuable information can be found that can contextualise this and inform us about the development of the queer culture that we know and engage in today.

The Leeds Artists Show 2023 is an exhibition taking place from February 15 to April 30 at Leeds Art Gallery, displaying a collection of artworks by 90 artists from different parts of Leeds. The exhibit comprises various forms of art, such as drawing, painting, photography, sculpture, textiles, film, and video, and was created through an open call for submissions. It also aims to highlight the city's vibrant art scene and showcases the talents of both established and emerging artists, including 21 young artists from primary schools in the city. The Leeds Artists Show is running as part of LEEDS 2023's Awakening showcase. Leeds Beckett University is a Principal Education Partner of LEEDS 2023, playing a key role in the city-wide celebration of arts and culture. To find out more about our involvement with LEEDS 2023, please visit our website.