"ME NOT - #26", graphite, colored pencil, and water color on paper, 2014

The series includes 65 drawings. The images evoke the complex, misunderstood, and at times humorous medley of the non-binary. Parenting a non-binary child has been a journey of discovery, provoking a whirlwind of emotions: fear, confusion, wonderment, and joy. The project questions the gender binary, explores the merger of masculine and feminine, and calls into question personal constructs of identity.

The drawing series is accompanied with a video that documents an individual attempting to remove the needles of a cactus. The piece references the childhood ritual of plucking flower petals while reciting “he loves me, he loves me not”, but “Me Not” is not playful. The piece references gender constructs, violence against queer people, and resistance against cultural stereotypes.

 

To view the video check out Me Not

“cactus, flower, f%#K-off, love, roses” exhibited at the San Diego Art Institute, Central Michigan University, The Rymer Gallery (solo exhibition) Nashville, TN, Brownsville Museum of Fine Art, TX, 29th Annual Northern National, Nicolet College, Rhinelander, WI, The Center on Halsted (solo show), Chicago, IL, Women’s Caucus for Art, National, Chicago, IL, Manifest Gallery, Cincinnati, OH