Honesty, Glory, and Possibility: Queer Experiences of Gender


2SLGBTQIA+ Community Group Exhibition
Main Space
April 5 – 23, 2022
Co-presented by Union Gallery x Queen's Reads

Anonymous, Samantha Andersen, Charlie Atkinson, Mara Bureau, Kelsey Dawn Pearson, And?Sophie featuring Taylor Norris, Flynn Eves-Welch, FLORA, Meenakashi Ghadial, Mance Granberg, Sara Gray, Alice Hamilton, Kelbeau, Cassandra Lalonde, Sadie Levine, Xinyue Li, Madeleine Lychek, Kamryn Marsh, Sabrina Masud, Jeff McGilton, Griffin McIntyre, Danny McLaren, Brit Nickerson, Abby Nowakowski, Mica Pants, Clarke Phillips, Camden Ramer, Liv Rondeau, Stéfy, and Jesse Wardell




Image: Brit Nickerson, not some fleeting tenderness, 2022, giclee print | Courtesy of the artist



“I don’t want to live in a world where some trans people are considered normal and others are considered freaks. I want to live in a world where all of our freakish, ugly, gorgeous magnificence is celebrated for its honesty, glory, and possibility.” (Thom, 2019, p. 109)


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Exhibition view, Honesty, Glory, and Possibility: Queer Experiences of Gender, 2022 | Photo: Chris Miner
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Exhibition view, Honesty, Glory, and Possibility: Queer Experiences of Gender, 2022 | Photo: Chris Miner
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Exhibition view, Honesty, Glory, and Possibility: Queer Experiences of Gender, 2022 | Photo: Chris Miner
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Exhibition view, Honesty, Glory, and Possibility: Queer Experiences of Gender, 2022 | Photo: Chris Miner
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Exhibition view, Honesty, Glory, and Possibility: Queer Experiences of Gender, 2022 | Photo: Chris Miner
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Exhibition view, Honesty, Glory, and Possibility: Queer Experiences of Gender, 2022 | Photo: Chris Miner
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Exhibition view, Honesty, Glory, and Possibility: Queer Experiences of Gender, 2022 | Photo: Chris Miner
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Exhibition view, Honesty, Glory, and Possibility: Queer Experiences of Gender, 2022 | Photo: Chris Miner
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Exhibition view, Honesty, Glory, and Possibility: Queer Experiences of Gender, 2022 | Photo: Chris Miner
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Exhibition view, Honesty, Glory, and Possibility: Queer Experiences of Gender, 2022 | Photo: Chris Miner
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Exhibition view, Honesty, Glory, and Possibility: Queer Experiences of Gender, 2022 | Photo: Chris Miner
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Exhibition view, Honesty, Glory, and Possibility: Queer Experiences of Gender, 2022 | Photo: Chris Miner
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Exhibition view, Honesty, Glory, and Possibility: Queer Experiences of Gender, 2022 | Photo: Chris Miner
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Exhibition view, Honesty, Glory, and Possibility: Queer Experiences of Gender, 2022 | Photo: Chris Miner
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Exhibition view, Honesty, Glory, and Possibility: Queer Experiences of Gender, 2022 | Photo: Chris Miner
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Exhibition view, Honesty, Glory, and Possibility: Queer Experiences of Gender, 2022 | Photo: Chris Miner
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Exhibition view, Honesty, Glory, and Possibility: Queer Experiences of Gender, 2022 | Photo: Chris Miner
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Exhibition view, Honesty, Glory, and Possibility: Queer Experiences of Gender, 2022 | Photo: Chris Miner
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Exhibition view, Honesty, Glory, and Possibility: Queer Experiences of Gender, 2022 | Photo: Chris Miner
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Exhibition view, Honesty, Glory, and Possibility: Queer Experiences of Gender, 2022 | Photo: Chris Miner
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Exhibition view, Honesty, Glory, and Possibility: Queer Experiences of Gender, 2022 | Photo: Chris Miner
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Exhibition view, Honesty, Glory, and Possibility: Queer Experiences of Gender, 2022 | Photo: Chris Miner
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Exhibition view, Honesty, Glory, and Possibility: Queer Experiences of Gender, 2022 | Photo: Chris Miner
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Exhibition view, Honesty, Glory, and Possibility: Queer Experiences of Gender, 2022 | Photo: Chris Miner
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Exhibition view, Honesty, Glory, and Possibility: Queer Experiences of Gender, 2022 | Photo: Chris Miner
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Exhibition view, Honesty, Glory, and Possibility: Queer Experiences of Gender, 2022 | Photo: Chris Miner
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Exhibition view, Honesty, Glory, and Possibility: Queer Experiences of Gender, 2022 | Photo: Chris Miner
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Exhibition view, Honesty, Glory, and Possibility: Queer Experiences of Gender, 2022 | Photo: Chris Miner
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Exhibition view, Honesty, Glory, and Possibility: Queer Experiences of Gender, 2022 | Photo: Chris Miner
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Exhibition view, Honesty, Glory, and Possibility: Queer Experiences of Gender, 2022 | Photo: Chris Miner





Queen’s Reads and Union Gallery are pleased to co-present Honesty, Glory, and Possibility: Queer Experiences of Gender, a community exhibition featuring 2SLGBTQIA+ artists.

Honesty, Glory, and Possibility draws inspiration from the 2021-2022 Queen’s Reads selection I Hope we Choose Love: A Trans Girl's Notes from the End of the World by Kai Cheng Thom. The goal of this collaborative exhibition is to resist and disrupt gender-binary narratives rooted in heteronormativity, settler-colonialism, and white supremacy through art. Questions that the artists responded to in their work include: In what ways do I stand outside of the gender-binary? How do I choose to express my gender as a queer person? How is my queerness and gender related? And what do I want the world to know about how I experience queerness and gender?

This art show is an invitation to bear witness to the complicated, messy, and nuanced ways queer folx experience gender. For the straight guests viewing this art show, we ask that you reflect on how you can use your power and privilege to protect and amplify queer communities. For the queer guests, we encourage you to find hope in how this art show works to break down walls by radically loving and caring for all forms of queerness.

Clarissa de Leon (Queen’s Reads)
Carina Magazzeni and Abby Nowakowski (Union Gallery)

Artwork Booklet


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Abby Nowakowski
Undercut
2022


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Anonymous
All i wanted was you
2022


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Brit Nickerson
not some fleeting tenderness 2
2022


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Sadie Levine
Garden Party
2022


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Kelsey Dawn Pearson
Wading On Lizardman
2021


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Camden Ramer
Skin and bones
2022


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Liv Rondeau
Decolonize the Vulva
2022


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Jesse Wardell
untitled (candid St. John's series)
2016


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Meenakashi Ghadial
4th Floor Bathroom
2021


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Mara Bureau
Lack of Recognition
2021


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Flynn Eves-Welch
Punk Angel
2021


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FLORA
Genderqueer Feels
2022
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Kelby J Paquette-Anderson
Pensive Kelbeau
2018


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Madeleine Lychek
Bulge
2021


Anonymous

SHE/HER

I think of myself as a casual artist who likes to use art to play and explore.



Anonymous

SHE/HER

I am a young, female, unlabeled high school student. I have struggled with finding a label for my sexuality almost my entire life. I used to identify with bisexuality, but it was never a good fit. I have lots of hobbies, my main ones are photography, archery, singing/guitar and videogames! I love biking and swimming in the summer. The summer is what drives my creativity and inspiration. I love, love, LOVE pinterest and shopping. I like to experiment with my style and try new things. I am currently obsessed with rings, dark flared jeans, striped patterns and dyeing my hair :D I hope someday I get to move to NYC or Paris and become a photographer, musician or artist of some kind :) I also love Ariana Grande, Conan Gray, Justin Bieber, Paramore and Harry Styles.



Samantha Andersen

SHE/HER

I'm an artist from Toronto. I have loved all different types of art my entire life. I realized I enjoyed visual arts the most when I auditioned for an art middle school. They asked us to build a sculpture based on a story. I built a tall dragon and they asked me to keep it. I am proud to be a part of the LGBTQ+ community, and I have three cats (these work well together). I taught gymnastics and art throughout high school at various places in Toronto, and I now teach at Kingston School of Arts. I am excited to be a part of more opportunities and I'm looking forward to learning in my Fine Arts program at Queen’s.



Charlie Atkinson

They/Them

I am a queer non-binary Latinx artist who has worked with multiple different mediums. I fell in love with painting over the pandemic, specifically with the messiness that painting comes with. I love seeing the paint not only on the canvas, but also on my hands and clothes and sometimes even in my hair. My artwork is a part of me and I am a part of it. I have discovered so much about myself through painting, as it allows me time for critical self reflection.



Mara Bureau

SHE/HER

Hello! My name is Mara Bureau. I am a 20-year-old multi-media artist from Toronto, Canada. I work in oil paint, charcoal, printmaking, sculpture, and digital media. I am currently in my third year of my Bachelor of Fine Arts (Honours) and am planning on continuing into a Master's Degree in Fine Art.



Kelsey Dawn Pearson

They/She

Kelsey Dawn Pearson is a current Master’s of Fine Arts Candidate at Concordia University. Through the use of craft techniques taught to them by her mother and grandmothers, she reflects on functionality and its in(ability) to blur aesthetic value. They develop imagery composed of figures emerging from a natural environment, like smoothed rocks protruding from the dirt. These images illustrate outwardly confrontational narratives while pointing inward at personal doubts and prolonged dysmorphia.

Why is flesh so dangerous? Her work is seemingly supernatural, chaotic and colourful swamp-water.

Fictions of Fictions

They often pair exterior scenes with domestic symbols. They wade in the spaces where they meet. They explore themes of distorted reality, confront personal ethics, battle dysphoria, bridge fiction and the present through the use of portals, pry at trauma, loss and guilt, touch and feel, and challenge perception…

In a world bordering ours



And?Sophie

Featuring Taylor Norris

She.her.elle

And?Sophie is a queer writer, performer, video-maker and curator with a penchant for flair and chaos. Originally from Montreal, where she trained in theatre and arts administration, she has played many factual and fictional roles and has published a number of dramaturgical and poetic pieces. Her works on stage, page and screen have been shown in Montreal, Kingston, Niagara, Italy, and Uganda.



Flynn Eves-Welch

They/Them

Flynn is a fourth-year student in the Bachelor of Fine Arts program at Queen's. They are local to the Katarokwi-Kingston area, and are mostly working in printmaking and photography/photographic composites in their work. Their work explores queer identity as it intersects with other subjects of interest to them. The themes they explore include representation, social dynamics, identity and perception, contrasting against religious trauma, insecurity and subculture. In their work they frequently use images of themselves and their own body to add a visceral tone into the narrative elements that they utilize in their work. For them, making the artwork personal allows for a deeper connection and catharsis through the production of the final images and grants a personal tie between the subject and the observer through drawing similarities or identifying with the subject matter.



FLORA

They/She

Queer genderqueer ambidextrous multidisciplinary artist. Former Kingston resident of thirteen years, they currently reside in Gananoque. She loves to use a pastel and neon aesthetic. Pop art, cartoon and comic influences.



Meenakashi Ghadial

SHE/HER

Meenakashi Ghadial is an artist based in Toronto, currently working towards her Bachelor of Fine Arts (Honours) at Queen’s University. She specializes in oil paint and mainly works with figures and portraits with an emphasis on self portraiture. Through the depiction of oneself, Meenakashi explores ideas of sexuality, femininity and identity by capturing moments in her life that give her a chance to reflect on the relationship she has with herself. Through the vulnerability of her work, she invites others to find solace.



Mance Granberg

He/They/Them

First Nations two spirited Abenaki Artisan. Originally from the Bencancour area of Quebec. Enrolled member of the cowasuck band of the peanncook Abenaki people.



Sara-Elisabeth Gray

she/they

Sara is an artist currently pursuing studies in Political Science and Art History. She hopes to pursue further education in Law and dedicate her life to advocacy work for the underprivileged and under-represented. Her sexuality informs her drives and desire to create a more equitable urge. Sara urges you to do great things.



Alice Hamilton

SHE/HER

Alice Hamilton was born in Gravenhurst and has lived there ever since. Ever since she was young, she had a passion for art. As she grew up, her creativity grew, and so did her love. Lesbian love has changed the way that Alice sees things. Her art is inspired by the sway of her love, suffering and experiences.



Kelbeau

he/him, they/them

Kelby J Paquette-Anderson is currently completing his Bachelor of Fine Arts at Queen's University, and holds an Associates Degree in Fashion Management from George Brown College (2013). His illustrations from 2018-2019 explore queer self-exploration and voyeurism in foreign environments, focusing on his surroundings like social dynamics, botany, the natural landscape, and himself around them. His process involves drawing still life “en plein air,” or observationally, and from photographs to recreate his compositions. His illustrations aim to convey a fleeting curiosity for the world’s offerings and an unravelling of his own cognitive entanglements around gender binaries and queer expectations. He currently lives between Kingston, ON and Toronto, ON. He identifies as Queer.



Cassandra Lalonde

She/Her, He/Him

I am a 15-year-old queer high school student from Kilworthy, Ontario. For seven years I lived in Toronto before moving to a small town in Kilworthy where I was exposed to many artists that shaped me into the artist I am today.

I've always loved many different forms of art, especially things like photography and poetry, but painting has found its way into my heart and has become my favourite art medium.

I have made art pieces for the Royal Canadian Legion many years in a row and won a few awards from it, and I've also been surrounded by artists in both my immediate and extended family.



Sadie Levine

SHE/HER

Through my artwork, I create a unique world filled with odd creatures and alternate realities where everything is the way I want it to be. I enjoy playing with themes of childhood and innocence while giving things a dark twist. My work serves as an outlet for my emotions, both pleasant and unpleasant.

In 2020, I started doing editorial illustrations for MUSE, an on-campus magazine. I discovered that I loved creating visual metaphors that captured the themes of articles, and I enjoyed figuring out how to tell stories through my art. It was around this time that I knew I wanted to be an illustrator, rather than just a general artist.



Xinyue Li

SHE/HER

I'm a 4th year student at Queen's University, majoring in Computing and minoring in Economics. My home country is China.



Madeleine Lychek

she/they

Madeleine Lychek is an interdisciplinary artist currently based in Guelph, Ontario. She holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts, in Studio Art with Distinction, from the University of Guelph (2019). Lychek has exhibited locally and internationally, and has participated in many panels, lectures and curatorial projects. They use social media and performance art to engage with conversations surrounding power and play, exploring how a body and its consumption can be used as a radical act of self-discovery. Her practice is continually influenced by themes surrounding digital censorship and queer longing.Their research-based practice allows for the artist to explore their gender in myriad of ways.



Kamryn Marsh

they/them

Kamryn Marsh is a trainer, facilitator, yoga guide, activist, and youth worker in Kingston/Ka’tarohkwi. They identify as a brown transracial adoptee, queer, gender-fluid, middle-class, mentally ill, a survivor, and non-Indigenous. They currently work at KEYS, coordinating mentoring opportunities for youth. In their free time Kamryn enjoys swimming, yoga, singing, and multi-day through-hikes in remote areas. They are a community member who has proudly not worked at or studied at Queen's. They have lived as a rental tenant in Kingston/Ka’tarohkwi for eight years.



Sabrina Masud

SHE/HER

Sabrina is an amateur artist. She is an international PhD candidate at Queen's from Bangladesh.



Jeff McGilton

he/him

Jeff is a Master’s graduate of Applied Theatre Studies with a passion for collaboration and community arts initiatives. His visual art practice mostly consists of making small sketches and postcards for friends, with occasional dips into mixed media, painting, and beadwork. With his background in community-based art projects, he finds events such as “Queer Kinship: Chosen Family” quite exciting, and is grateful to Union Gallery, Queen's Reads and Queen's Collage Collectives for hosting.



Griffin McIntyre

He/Him

Griffin McIntyre was born In Severn Bridge and has lived there ever since. Since Griffin was young, he has always had a passion for art, from painting to sculpting. While Griffin grew up, he started to look into things and see the world in a different way. His art changed from strictly of his imagination and spread to art that raises awareness. His art is often inspired by the mental struggles of LGBTQ along with the dysphoria some people go through.



Danny McLaren

they/them

Danny McLaren is a queer, trans and non-binary writer who uses they/them pronouns. They write about trans existence and resistance or video games, or both, if they can pull it off. They are currently Master’s student in Gender Studies at Queen’s University. Look out for their forthcoming chap with Porkbelly Press, entitled The Enby Manifesto, or keep up with them on twitter.



Brit Nickerson

SHE/They

Brit Nickerson is a Queer visual artist, advocate, and cultural worker currently living and working in Mohkinstsis, which is colonially known as Calgary. She was born on the traditional unceded territory of the Wolastoqiyik, Mi’kmaq and Peskotomuhkati peoples. She graduated from the Alberta University of the Arts with a Bachelor in Design (2014) and completed a Master’s of Fine Arts from Emily Carr University (2017). Since 2018, she has devoted much of her time to working at non-profit cultural centres in Mohkinstsis.



Abby Nowakowski

SHE/They

Abby Nowakowski is a queer interdisciplinary artist using printmaking, illustration, and story-telling to explore what shame and confidence look like. Abby’s practice taps into the human tendencies of failure and awkwardness to spread advocacy for care, share stories, and make space for weirdos.



Mica Pants

he/him

Jackie Pants, also known as Mica, is a trans artist from South Frontenac County, Ontario, Canada. He creates unique detailed pen drawings in his home studio where he lives with his partner, 2 kids and many animal friends.

In his early years he was rejected from art school not once but twice! Afterwards, he pursued a career in social services mostly working in the crossroads of substance use, mental health and the homelessness that comes with it. That's where he's been for the last decade.

He came back to art and started drawing in this style during paternity leave with his first child, as a way to honour the roadkill that he would often see on the country roads. The style was also inspired by his meditation practice and the many interconnected complicated energies that exist within us all.



Clarke Phillips

She/They

Clarke discovered poetry as an emotional release that somehow helped the most confusing thoughts become moderately more manageable. Being a second-year Psychology student at Queen’s University provides a lot of opportunity for introspection into our very being as humans interacting with other humans. Having grown up in Kingston, the return to childhood has brought with it childlike wonder for what it means to create art for the sake of creating, inspiring a new branch of self-expression through creative writing.



Camden Ramer

She/They

My name is Camden Ramer and I have enjoyed art and creating my whole life. I am extremely inspired by diversity and new people that I meet. I am from Gravenhurst, Ontario. I work mostly in acrylic and watercolour. The techniques I use to make my art stand out include using modeling paste to create real texture in my pieces. I always start with a sketch and work on that until I am happy with the final product.



Liv Rondeau

She/They

Liv Rondeau is a Kanyen'kehá:ka educator and beadwork artist. She is the owner of Flint and Maple beadwork and is thankful to her grandmother and aunties for teaching her how to bead. Beading for her is a form of wellness and allows her to feel connected to her culture and family. She is devoted to learning Rotinonhsyón:ni ceremonies, teachings, language, culture, and songs. Liv is dedicated to helping her community and creating spaces where people can connect and reconnect to language and culture. She continues to do work every day that honours her culture, language, community, and her ancestors.



Stéfy

they/she/her/elle

Dr. Stéfy McKnight is a white settler femme of centre (foc) and queer artist-scholar based in Katarokwi/Kingston, on traditional Anishinaabe and Haudenosaunee Territory. Stéfy’s research examines research-creation as a methodology for knowledge production and fact-based storytelling in so called Canada. Their research interests are broad and look at surveillance as contemporary colonialism; queer and femme representation in digital and virtual spaces; 2SLGBTQIA+ activism; technology in rural communities, and art as function-creep.

Their scholarly work takes the form of performance, multi-media interventions, online curatorial projects, 3D printing, installation, video, and live streaming. Stéfy's art has been exhibited at the Stratford Gallery, Stratford; Modern Fuel Artist-Run Centre, Kingston; Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts, Kingston; White Water Gallery, North Bay; and others.



Jesse Wardell

they/she

I'm an arts administrator, educator, and practicing artist. I have worked with organizations across Canada, from smaller spaces like Modern Fuel, Eastern Edge, and Union Gallery, to larger ones such as the AGO, The Rooms, and the Vancouver Art Gallery. I am currently the Art & Design Coordinator at Arts Umbrella, an arts non-profit for children and teens. I assist in programming and running an array of sessional classes as well as collaborative programs with other arts organizations (including VAG, CAG, and BTY Group), all with the aim of supporting students as emerging artists through mentorship opportunities with professionals (curators, artists, educators, etc) in the arts.