Mirrored Vinyl Textiles

2022-2023

Offering a distorted reflection of the viewer, this work uses mirrored vinyl to reference the complex challenges surrounding “visibility” and safety faced by LGBTQ youth today.

Despite the rise in queer representation and commercialization of Pride, queer youth in the U.S face discriminatory legislation like Don’t Say Gay bills, housing insecurity, and mental illness. The backpack in #SayGay is meant to be a safe space in schools where proposed legislation seeks to erase queer existence. (In)Visibility Hoodie embodies the perpetual decision to be out, vulnerable, and free or to be hidden, safe, and trapped. The quilt patterns in 40% (NC) and 40% (VA) are a twist on the North Carolina and Virginia state quilt blocks, featuring tiny pink houses. Roughly 10-15% of youth in the US identify as LGBTQ+, yet nearly 40% of the youth who experience housing insecurity identify as LGBTQ+. The quilt lining signals the single most-lifesaving factor in a gender-diverse child’s well-being: a parent using a child’s preferred pronouns. This work was initiated through the “More Than Shelter” exhibition at Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art. As an extension of the exhibition, I offered an on-site workshop for the LGBTQ+ YOUth group from Stand Up for Kids, Hampton Roads.