Title: MILK (2010)

Medium: Installation, sound, text and video.

My 1st solo show commissioned by SHOUT Festival, The Lombard Method, Birmingham, UK

“A response to the feature film Milk (2008) and the story of the titular Harvey Milk, an American activist who fought for gay rights and became California’s first openly gay elected official.” - SHOUT Festival.

“At the time I was feel I was shrinking into expectations of others and back into a psychological closet; and wanted to make art that mattered to me which that felt like emotional care and healing through the making of it. I was so moved by the film MILK and in one particular intimate and tender scene, Sean Penn (playing Harvey Milk) says “Forty years old and I haven't done a thing that I'm proud of.” This resonated with me and was the trigger for me to re-imagine and respond to the film MILK.”

Invited artists, Artists Anne Guest and Steve Reinke kindly allowed me to use their videos within the exhibition. Thanks to the Harvey Milk foundation and Stuart Milk for conversations around making the audio piece in this exhibition.

https://anneguest.co.uk/

http://www.myrectumisnotagrave.com

List of works in the exhibition

Ground Floor

“Are you a homosexual?” (The nonunion between men).” (2010)

(A0 Photographic print of the original Coors Beer poster ban campaign)

A Letter from Harvey (2010)

(An edited letter from Harvey Milk to his lover Joe in 1962, American Typewriter font used. Printed on blank pages taken from the artist diary)

I forgive you Dan (2010)

(1962 Olympia typewriter with the letters ‘h’, ‘a’, ‘r’, ‘v’, ‘e’, ‘y’ wrapped in white cable tidy with a typed letter from the artist to Dan White)

First Floor

Mission Statement for MILK (2010)

(Artist statement and Titles Of Work printed on the reverse of individual pages of the screenplay for MILK (2008) on A4 Red non-photocopy paper)

Progressive Coalition (2010)

(Drinks served at the opening night of MILK (2010) and arranged in the color sequence of the Gay Pride Flag presented before and after the opening night)

After Proposition 6 (2010)

(Mixed coloured balloons filled with one breath of air from Artist and released into the space)

Second Floor

Cross fire (a city in agony) (2010)

Recreated sound of gunfire from the assignation of Harvey Milk from the film MILK (2008) and The times Of Harvey Milk (1984) (with permission from Stuart Milk)

Seven Arrows Of Hope (2010)

Reverse neon (electric blue) text in the forged handwriting copied from a love letter from Harvey Milk written in 1962

Defiance of the fallen (2010)

(Selected hand-picked maple leaves by the artist, sprinkled with multi-coloured glitter illuminated by selected video works from Artists Steve Reinke and Anne Guest)

Films on show are:

Lonely Boy (1997) – Steve Reinke

JP (2002) – Steve Reinke
Timeslip (2010) – Anne guest 

The Mendi (2006) – Steve Reinke

Ask The Insects (2005)Steve Reinke

Why I stopped going to foreign films (1991) – Steve Reinke