"DOWN SOUTH" Series
Inspired by books like The Un-Natural State: Arkansas and The Queer South and Men Like That: A Southern Queer History, Instagram accounts such as @truckslutsmag and @queerappalachia, and my own upbringing in rural Arkansas, this series seeks to convey the richness of southern and rural LGBT+ identities through the reference of multiple and sometimes conflicting visual referents. The combination or contrast of everyday objects address gender and sexuality, but also class and the rural.
My research examines abstraction as an innovative anti-homonormative mode of embodied politics for LGBT+ resistance. Currently, the discourse on Queer Abstraction is overwhelmingly positive and overlook the limitations of the genre - specifically the links between both queer and abstract to complex histories of race and colonialism. My research and this series seek to intervene into this discourse by offering a queer abstraction that centers geography - specifically the rural - and class politics.
Utilizing found objects and specific materials that evoke class, queerness, and the rural, the pieces in Down South subvert strong Southern gender norms through the evoking of the queer bodily in witty and unusual ways to depict another view of the rural which is queer resistance and ingenuity.
Below, are some works from this series. To see the whole series or see my other works, please visit www.racheltrusty.com.
SELECT EXHIBITIONS
Pieces from the Down South series have been featured in the Exhibitions Below.
Upcoming:
Solo Exhibition
"Pickup Sticks"
Aug. 3 - Sept. 14, 2024
OZARK HOME
The Medium
June 13 - July 4
Springdale, AR
Instead of creating hierarchies between styles and attempting to define A singular Ozark space,
practice, or history, Ozark Home looks specifically at how artists who have lived or are living in
this broad region blend “use” with artistry to comment on personal space through a combination
of handmade objects, installation, new media, and two-dimensional artwork. Ozark Home
specifically posits that contemporary makers have long been active in this region and homes or
unofficial communities in neighborhoods and domestic spaces have engendered these enduring
creativities in ways larger arts institutions or media do not see.
DIFFERENT NAMES
The Martin
January 20 - February 12
Chicago, IL
DIFFERENT NAMES (for the same thing) is the first exhibition of 2023 at The Martin! Curated by The Martin's Founder & Curator Whitney LaMora, the works featured in this exhibition are all united by a theme of change: either during the course of the exhibition, throughout a single day or as you interact with them - resulting in an exciting and interactive collection of work.
BEYOND CRAFT
Chico Art Center
Chico, CA
November 1 - December 4, 2022
"The pieces of the show are individual expressions of self, lovingly fabricated and conceived in the rich and varied arts and crafts tradition. They both embody the purpose of repurposing and leave the viewer with a new message of resilience."
~Juror by Adrienne Scott.
RESTORING AND REDEFINING THE BODY
Spencer Museum of Art
Lawrence, KS
Spring 2021
Three works from the Down South series were featured in Restoring and Redefining the Body at the Spencer Museum of Art: "Brian's Cousin (After Mapplethorpe," "Uncle Wayne," and "Oversized Load."
"Uncle Wayne" won the prestigious Brosseau Award.
