Living For The Fame
"Living For The Fame" is an ongoing drawing-based installation that explores the currency of gay images. The works reference images sourced from Instagram, Tumblr, and gay dating apps such as Grindr and SCRUFF. The source images are often mundane and temporary in nature; through the filter of dating apps, they might be seen as throw-away images made solely for sexual invitation. Men look with the hopes of being looked at. As I draw these images, I look back at these men. There is an inherent irony in spending considerable time with images that are ephemeral by design: they disappear in feeds (Facebook, Instagram); they vanish completely (Snapchat); they are deleted and updated. The result is an abundance of digital detritus. Central to the installation is "All Things That Glitter Can't Be Gold #14", a large-scale glitter text work that decontextualizes song lyrics from "Doll Parts" by Courtney Love's band Hole: "I fake it so real, I am beyond fake." This work examines the status of these images that appear, disappear, and reappear on social media and networking apps, the simultaneity of their presence and absence. It also considers the images that we post with desire and anticipation-will someone look back at us" CLICK TO ENTER |