H.O.M.E.S., 2024
Exhibition in collaboration with chloe j. harpst
H.O.M.E.S. considers the artists’ ambivalent relationship with the midwest, specifically to the rural Michigan communities where both artists were born and raised. The pressures of restrictive social norms trickle down from generation to generation, and for a myriad of reasons, some communities fail to adapt to the ever-changing social, political, and economic climates of our time. This is especially significant for small-town queer and trans youth who are raised with the expectation that they will fit into traditional gender roles from, or even before, birth.
Through bucolic imagery, artifacts of home, and the media we consume, this exhibition points to the queerness of the Midwest. Self-made identities and a spirit of ingenuity and resilience inspire the work, all created this year in response to our local landscapes and those who inhabit them.
