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Artworks

Open a larger version of the following image in a popup: Catriona Clark, Bessie Bower, 2024

Catriona Clark

Bessie Bower, 2024
Rope Cord, PLA, Resin and acrylic paint on Metal with wood.
250cm(h) x 120 cm x 80 cm

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The loving process of exchanging bracelets brings tactility to a bond you build with someone. You integrate love into you daily through this exchange as the item stays on your...
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The loving process of exchanging bracelets brings tactility to a bond you build with someone. You integrate love into you daily through this exchange as the item stays on your body. You can reflect on this sentiment of affection and care that went into the thoughts and creation of the bracelets. So many Queer women could express these emotions through the language and guise pop culture gave us, friendship. Though subverted, we live Queerly through these survival techniques. To have control of living a loving life without the stigma of being overt and openly Queer as a young person is a big part of many journeys.
In a police raid on 25 Fitzroy Square in 1927, letters detailing love and friendship were seized for being queer. "My dearest camping Bessie," wrote Macnamara, one of the flats owners, Bobby's, friends where parties and space were made for queer expression. "write to each other in sincere friendship".

Joyous and caring, I advocate for our Queer joy in love and friendships—the evolution of our transient oral history into the tactile nourishes our legacy. I invite friends and lovers to stand beside us as bessies under the bower and bring us back to our roots.
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