Dean Sameshima
dal 25/3/2004 al 1/5/2004
Segnalato da
25/3/2004
Dean Sameshima
asprey jacques, London
Outlaw II (Silverlake). Photographs. The artist continues his exploration of gay culture and identity and its changing status in today's society. Under the exhibition title of Outlaw II, Sameshima will show two series of work Deaf Dude and Gauntlet II which explore the ways in which homosexuality and 'queer culture' have emerged into mainstream consciousness and acceptance, thus rendering obsolete the need for an underground milieu
''The Promiscuous homosexual is a sexual revolutionary. Each moment of his outlaw existence he confronts repressive laws, repressive ''morality''. Parks, alleys, subway, tunnels, garages, streets – these are the battlefields.'' John Rechy,'' The Sexual Outlaw'', 1977
aspreyjacques presents the first UK solo show of American artist Dean Sameshima in which he continues his exploration of gay culture and identity and its changing status in today's society. Under the exhibition title of Outlaw II, Sameshima will show two series of work Deaf Dude and Gauntlet II which explore the ways in which homosexuality and 'queer culture' have emerged into mainstream consciousness and acceptance, thus rendering obsolete the need for an underground milieu.
The title of the show refers to The Sexual Outlaw, a famous book by John Rechy and his account about hunting for sex in Los Angeles for three consecutive days. Silverlake is an area east of Hollywood renowned in the 70s and 80s for its gay and minority group based communities. Since then, it has become homogenized although hard-core gay clubs such as Cuffs and Gauntlet II still exist there. The first work in the show is a photo of the entrance sign to Cuffs and reads: ''THIS IS AN ALTERNATIVE LIFESTYLE BUSINESS. IF YOU MIGHT BE OFFENDED…DO NOT ENTER.'' A further series of 4 images of the gay leather club Gauntlet II aim to reinstate the notion of the sexual outlaw by capturing those spaces that were once the only territories in which gay men could cruise for sex.
Deaf Dude is a sequence of 17 close-up photographs featuring a young male model, re-photographed from an eighties porn magazine. In each image the model communicates directly with the viewer using sign language for different sex related terms such as Masturbation, Blow Job and Ejaculation. The silence of the deaf guy – a silence doubled through re-photographing – and the use of sign language echoes Sameshima's interest in the notion of a specifically gay sexual language. Sameshima appropriates the images of the deaf model as a metaphor for the paradoxical way in which the widespread acceptance of homosexuality has led to a silencing of the once radical voice of the gay community. Sameshima objects to this sanitation of gay culture, mourning the loss of excitement experienced by acting against the law.
Born in Los Angeles (1971) where he currently lives, Dean Sameshima graduated from the Art Center College of Design, Pasadena (2001). Sameshima's work has been exhibited internationally including shows at the Pasadena Museum of Art (2002), MOCA, Los Angeles (2002), Kunstverein Hamburg, Germany (2002), Kunstraum Innsbruck, Austria (2002) and the Center for Curatorial Studies at Bard College, New York (2000). Gallery shows include Peres Projects, Los Angeles; Taka Ishiii, Tokyo and a group show at David Zwirner, New York (forthcoming).
Gallery hours: Tuesday - Saturday, 10 - 6