Bleumortier, Peter

My work aims to question how historic tropes shape the way personal identity is formed in relation to sexuality, specifically in relation to masculinity and queerness. By using the symbols which are representative of my cultural background, I aim to find ways in which the inherent sexuality in these symbols can be brought forward – a queering of the iconography I am surrounded by. A Butlerian understanding of sexuality tells us that gender is on a spectrum – the polarities of masculine and feminine are archetypes that no one actually inhabits and are perpetuated by the media. Through art making I aim to break down these archetypes of gender and sexuality that are enforced in subtle and nuanced ways. This essay investigates ways in which form and line can corrode the propaganda that is enforced by western media concerning gender archetypes. In my current artistic practice I have chosen to mostly focus on my childhood upbringing as a model to express how gender is enforced through the iconography I am surrounded by. I grew up in a factory town, a town where everyone’s lives revolved around working for one company: McCain Foods. I have chosen to use this company to represent my childhood experience but also to reflect on the history of the place I came from. Munoz’s ideas of disidentification and Ahmed’s theorizing of disorientation are tools that have allowed me to explore personal cultural iconography rooted in the local of the Maritimes, which can be exclusive. Through contortion of form and by emphasizing sexual connotations I create a queering of the local industries of my own family history. Food has given me a vessel for commentary on my personal experience concerning sexuality, and I look forward to creating new works that deal with these themes.