Curatorial Practice > Cultural Crossroads

How have queer bodies been portrayed, celebrated and denigrated in media history?
Choking in one context is consensual pleasure, and in another is physical abuse. This work is a mash-up of historically potent queer imagery – original footage of the Stonewall riots; the fantasy of pornographic lesbian sex; recent homophobic attacks in Russia and androgynous icon Grace Jones. These moments of rebellion, violence, fantasy and pride have been literally embodied, a reminder that queer life is the result of queer histories. Spanking is fraught with meanings: pleasure, pain and shame. These are experiences associated with queerness.