Not only are these pieces arranged well aesthetically, but they also set the stage for the purpose of the exhibit, giving audiences a window into Black queer pageantry.
Emily Spralding, KC Studio
Charlotte Street Gallery
January 19–March 2, 2024
Group Exhibition
Featuring: Boi Boy (Kansas City, MO), John Brant (Kansas City, MO), Delaney George (Los Angeles, CA), Jackob Graves (Kansas City, MO), Nasir Anthony Montalvo (Kansas City, MO), SunYoung Park (Kansas City, MO), and Trenity Thomas (New Orleans, LA)
“Miss/They Camaraderie 2024 is an immersive exhibition into the world of drag performance and Black pageantry where the artworks are the “beauty queens” and the exhibition, the stage. Featuring seven artists whose works draw upon archival research and contemporary lens-based practices, Miss/They Camaraderie 2024 is a subversive and imaginative display of beauty, femininity, and non-binary expression.
Curated by Charlotte Street Curatorial Fellow Yashi Davalos, Miss/They Camaraderie 2024 is an exhibition where “beauty begets camaraderie,” where viewers are showered in a glittering showcase of opulence, vanity, and queer identity.”
I contributed two installs, Lord, Lady, Labia and Realness, that utilized photo reproductions directly from my archive {B/qKC}. The installs juxtapose the surrealist elements in the show–specifically examining Black queer pageantry through the lens of Black masculine lesbians, drag queens, and guided by video histories told by local Black drag queen Tisha Taylor.
Photo reproductions, wooden and metal frames, television, VCR
Photo reproductions, wooden and metal frames, television, VCR
Photo reproductions, wooden and metal frames, television, VCR
(photos captured by E.G. Schempf)
Video Work
This install incorporated some of my first work with Video Home System (VHS) tapes and Videocasette Recorder (VCR). I decided to record the first video histories for {B/qKC} onto an old camcorder (Sony DCR-SR60) and transfer them from digital video files onto VHS tapes. In doing so, I hoped to immerse audiences beyond simply viewing the video into actually interacting with the displays.
Recorded on Sony DCR SR-60
Digitally-edited using Adobe Premiere Pro and Final Cut Pro
Transferred onto Standard Grade T-120 VHS tape.
Snippet of “Black queer pageantry” playing in Realness install, Miss/They Camaraderie 2024.
“eye of the beholder” (2024)
part of Black queer digital archive, {B/qKC}
05:16 minutes
Snippet of “what is Soakie’s” playing in Lord, Lady, Labia install, Miss/They Camaraderie 2024.
“what is Soakie‘s” (2024)
part of Black queer digital archive, {B/qKC}
03:25 minutes