Queer Joy
Queer Joy is a monotype printmaking series exploring the infinite care and joy of queerness. It employs a combination of reductive monotype, trace monotype, and torn paper stencils.
Queerness means authenticity and joy to me. I have found such belonging and happiness in the queer community with my beloved friends. I asked many of my queer friends to send me pictures of themselves where they felt queer joy or euphoria or that now brings them joy to look at. I then pieced together those moments and people to create a series of joyful and free expression.
I didn’t clean my palette between different prints and I used a warm color palette that was able to layer and combine in soft, beautiful ways. This overlapping mirrors the way that my individual relationships with my friends come together to form a supportive community around me. Each of the people feautured have had an important role in my queer journey, all the way from middle school to college. I love all of them and they deserve to be memorialized as the important people they are. It was wonderful and meditative to trace over their faces and figures and recall our shared memories.
