Censorship

I'm showing my "Censorship" photos tonight in the group show "Philadelphia Out of Phase", curated by my friend Justin Samson at Bodega Gallery in Philly. I've chosen these particular images in response to the recent censorship of David Wojnarowicz's piece "A Fire in My Belly, A Work in Progress (1986-87)," a film made in part about the AIDS-related death of the artist's colleague and lover Peter Hujar, to have been included in the"Hide/Seek: Difference and Desire in American Portraiture" exhibit at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington D.C. The piece was removed entirely when religious rights activists insisted the work was "hate speech" and an attack on Christianity, funding was threatened so the piece was removed with what seems like no fight whatsoever. While my images were originally censored by me for the sole purpose of putting online for my friends, I worked in a way that mocked the system of censorship, emphasizing the ridiculousness of such a hate and shame fueling act and how it ultimately draws more attention to the disapproved of issues/imagery at hand than if left alone. Even after censoring these images to mainstream standards, the Facebook police still found images to delete that were deemed too "inappropriate" for the public eye. I will show the series in it's entirety and hope to add to the current discussion on censorship with a work perspective that is honest, self and mutual loving, and funny.
For more info on the show click HERE

Bodega Gallery
253 N. 3rd St.
Philadelphia, PA

opening: 8-11 December 17th