Ah, this modern age – it’s wonderful ain’t it?! Barriers are being broken down, distances diminished in the click and high pitch whirr of modems linking up, while news and information is being conveyed in one tweet of a minute… which is incredibly fast, albeit only 140 characters long. Throw in webcams, chat rooms and profiles and the speed with which we can find a ‘partner’ is as quick as typing three simple letters – asl (that’s ‘age, stats, location’ for those not in the know).
With all this marvel and wonder going on, is it any wonder that the notion of actual, genuine intimacy is seemingly an estranged concept? The vastness of the internet may be bringing us all closer together, but it’s doing so at a cost: the price being the propinquity of self and the joy that brings. It’s this very notion of intimacy which is being explored – in depth – at an exhibition called Intimate Acts, which opens at PICA on June 18.
This exhibition brings together six artists from across the globe, one of them being Kelli Connell from Texas. Connell’s work is sure to excite art lovers and OUTinPerth readers alike – her work explores the double life of the self through photography. It’s a collection of images which a powerful, poignant… and incredibly Sapphic in nature. But this last point is achieved in an incredibly unconventional manner: Connell uses the same model to play both of the characters that appear in her work.
‘My work raises questions about the roles that people play in relationships with others as well as the many “selves” that make up who we are and pull out of our pockets for use depending on the given situation,’ Connell explained of her photographs. ‘By using the same model as both characters in a relationship, while focusing on body language, facial expressions, and clothing worn, I am able to question the shifting complexity of identity. My work explores dichotomies like masculine and feminine, caregiver and caretaker, straight and gay, butch and femme, etc. In many ways, this work explores how relationship roles shift or remain the same when two females assume the roles as both partners.
‘For me personally, because I look very “straight”, I have often found it challenging to navigate in the gay community. Paying attention to body language, clothing, and gestures is a part of how people navigate in the gay community and many of my photographs are about this identity struggle. Over the years, I have come to believe that identity is fluid, rather than fixed, and the questions associated with this realization have been a part of my working process.’
Connell’s work deals with duality to the point that it almost becomes an exploration of the fractured self, or the ‘twin-ness’ of self. Narcissism and empathy collide to create images rich with context and narrative. They are imbued with stories, and the process of telling them. At times they even seem to flicker with the mild intrigue one might have of having one’s own twin, which begs the question: did Connell ever wish she was a twin?
‘I have never wished to have a twin, although I have always been interested by twins,’ she told OUTinPerth. ‘The first girlfriend I had was actually an identical twin. We met during an artist workshop, were partnered together for a portrait project, and I made a series of photographs about her and her missing twin (her twin lived in Argentina while she lived in the States). I think that project fostered my interest in the “self” and “other”. I often wonder how much twins see themselves in each other, and find that I relate to this investigation. I would say that I am a bit envious of the closeness, unspoken comfort, and collaborative energy that I imagine some twins have – such as Tegan and Sara, of whom I am a huge fan!’
Connell’s isn’t the only work in Intimate Acts that lends itself toward a queer reading. Japanese artist Futoshi Miyagi has created a series of photographs where he has essentially inserted himself into a loving relationship… with a complete stranger. The photographs, all sent in New York where Miyagi studied, feature the artist in romantic clinches with people who basically responded to adverts placed online. The results, like Connell’s work, embrace the very notion of modern intimacy and how it is an estranged creature for many, a beast that we can lack within ourselves or feed with moments from unknown others. For some though, intimacy has a genuine existence in their lives and is reflected in many of the images contained in this exhibition… or at least on the surface of these works.
Intimate Acts opens at PICA on June 18.
Scott-Patrick Mitchell
