Such a Drag!

Exhibition Description

The title of the exhibition, “Such a Drag!” is an idiom meaning “I’m sick and tired of it!” The artist says he has experienced verbal violence because putting make-up on men’s face does not conform to dichotomous gender norms. Korean queers frequently encounter hate expressions and narrow perspectives in their daily lives. Meanwhile, the word ‘drag’ in the title is also used as a term referring to drag culture. Unlike general drag performances in which a specific person performs drag and stands on stage, the exhibition directs “space” to drag. Elements such as exaggerated makeup, wigs, stage equipment, and music located throughout the exhibition space trigger the possibility that anyone visiting the exhibition can become an active drag performer in their imagination.

This writing was written a few months ago when I met the artist and was asked to write a manuscript. He was preparing for the exhibition as one of the participating artists of the Relay Anonymous Exhibition held by Gasamrojieul. The anonymous artist’s name is “Boonsin1,” and he said he will introduce drag culture to the exhibition to show his queer identity. I asked the main body of “Boonsin1” how far he could reveal himself to the audience. He replied that he could reveal that he was a gay in his 30s who did not publicly come out and that he was an artist working on paintings. When I asked how the work of Boonsin1 differs from the work of the main body, he said that if he was a painter, Boonsin1 would show unpicturesque installation work in this exhibition. He then said that he, who himself refers to as a “seclusion,” will show more brazen work on identity in the exhibition of Boonsin. A queer exhibition by an anonymous artist. I was looking forward to it, but at the same time I wondered how solid his anonymity could be.

The artist shows a series of unpicturesque-installation work. For him, there is the biggest difference not only in the media but also in the attitude toward work between painting and non-painting work. If painting is a work that subsides within himself, non-painting is more related to the world. This distinction between the main body and Boonsin1, painting and non-painting rather solidifies the presence of the actual artist (main body). Traces of the body remain fragmented on the Instagram account to promote the works and exhibitions displayed here. Audiences who visit the exhibition, especially those who have seen the artist’s previous works, may not find it difficult to collect these traces into pieces and identify him. But perhaps, we won’t follow him to the end and try to find out who he is. This is because if you try to turn the mask upside down and find out who he is, you may not be able to see Boonsin1 anymore. Why did the artist have to talk with such a loose mask away from him?

Like Boonsin1, who presents an exhibition under an anonymous name, wearing masks to queers is already familiar. For example, even if you are a person who has fully opened your identity now, they act like a cisgender straight person for fear of social stigma in school days, or don’t answer clearly to questions like “Do you have a girl/boyfriend?” “Do you have a wedding plan?”. Wearing a mask to cope with social stigma and dragging against the gender role prescribed by society have something in common in that they place layers on top of their identity, but the direction points to the extremes.

A series of (non)painting series in which text is listed were made of foundation (cosmetics), not paints. The phrase in this work, which looks as if it were a transcription of the Bible, is actually the lyrics of The Origin of Love, a song in the musical Hedwig. As is well known, Origin of Love is an adaptation of Aristotles’ speech in Plato’s book ‘Symposion’.

When the earth was still flat,
And the clouds made of fire,
And mountains stretched up to the sky,
Sometimes higher,
Folks roamed the earth
Like big rolling kegs.
They had two sets of arms.
They had two sets of legs.
They had two faces peering
Out of one giant head
So they could watch all around them
As they talked; while they read.
And they never knew nothing of love.
It was before the origin of love.

According to his speech, humans, who were perfect as one in a very long time ago, were divided into the anger of the gods, and still find half of each other and make love to return to their original body. His speech, which mentions that woman and woman, woman and man, and man and man were one body, suggests the possibility of various forms of relationships beyond the limits of gender dichotomy and heterosexual imagination.

In this exhibition, through the act of naming himself ‘Boonsin1’, instead of concealing his existence, he conveys a clearer voice than ever. He temporarily deviates from the biological and social gender roles and freely unfolds the stories he has wanted to tell in his life with drag’s grammar. He shows that countless forms of people and love can exist through the imagination of “Isn’t a third gender made of plastic?” Boonsin is not over here. What stories can be shown in the future after Boonsin1?

Finally, I would like to talk about what I experienced two years ago, which suddenly came to mind. One middle-aged artist, whom I first met at an after-party of an exhibition, suddenly sat next to me with a glass of alcohol while being drunk. Soon after, he spoke to me in a loud voice “Have you never heard that you looked like you were gay?” I’ve been through countless rude cases like this, but I had no patience that night , so I said, “Yes. I’ve heard that a lot, and I’m gay.” and he looked shocked at an unexpected response. There was silence for a while around the noisy area.

Written by Gyusik Lee

List of Works

Such a Drag! + Shell, 2021, Mixed Media, 53.0 x 45.5 cm(each)
Foundation, 2021, DLF 17W, 17N, 17C, Glitter on canvas, 20.0 x 20.0 cm(each)
Such a Drag!, 2021, Mixed Media, Variable Installation
Such a Drag! + Dummy, 2021, Mixed Media, 97.3 x 52.9 cm
Foundation, 2021, DLF 13C, 21N, 23C, 25N, 27W on canvas, 53.0 x 40.9 cm(each)
Such a Drag! + Shell, 2021, Mixed Media, 53.0 x 45.5 cm

Dates

November 1-14

Curator

Boonsin1

Artists

Boonsin1

Design

Koh Kyungho

Photo

Yang Seungwook

Space

Jung Jinwook

Selected Images