Orientation: Unsure

Orientation: Unsure / 2015 - 2017

Western societal mores come with expectations such as gender roles, heteronormativity, masculinity in boys, and femininity in girls. The way we think about gender has a long list of deeply embedded microaggressions: don’t be a girl, man up, she’s a bitch, that’s gay. The list goes on, including less obvious phrases and actions. What exactly do they mean? And upon reflection, how do they confuse an adolescent trying to define their gender or sexuality?

“But I’m nothing, if I can’t be me. If I can’t be true to myself, they don’t mean anything.”

Special thanks to Clamp Light Artist Studios & Gallery, Tom Turner, and Carol Cunningham Turner.

Exhibition logo by Carol Cunningham Turner.

Select exhibition and installation photographs by Tom Turner.