Monday, December 9, 10:00am – 1:30pm, Owen Hall 203 and via Zoom
Celie Waddington
Dr. Megan Wolfe, Dr. Louise Deroualle
Throughout history, human beings have used monster myths to contextualize and categorize the natural world and different societal groups found within it. In a similar sense, conservative societies have used propaganda and religious persecution to label queer people as monstrous and perverted. Such attitudes can color the self-perception of young queer people, creating a sense of discomfort in their own bodies. This body of work, Creature Comforts, seeks to recontextualize and reclaim that history of persecution through a queer lens, confronting the discomfort around queer identities and sexualities through the use of imagined creatures, as well as by redefining folkloric monsters. Borrowing the black-and-white aesthetics of queer mediums like zines and graphic novels, Creature Comforts translates these two-dimensional sensibilities into a three-dimensional medium: clay. This was achieved through a process called sgraffito, a slip-scratching technique used to create carved textures and illustrations. Visual sub-themes such as the recontextualization of the female nude and the deconstruction of pornographic elements reflect the personal process of self-discovery through the process of making this body of work. In this way, Creature Comforts becomes not only a confrontation of queer stereotypes, but as a celebration of queer identities.