Untold Histories: Queer People In America

Lovers and Lobotomy, 2019 questions cruel “conversion therapy” treatments and their lingering impacts in American culture.

Confirmed Bachelor Series, 2019 highlights the love life of James Buchanan, the 15th president of the United States.

The Lavender Scare Series, 2019 explores the impacts of McCarthyism on queer American civil servants and armed forces members during the Cold War.

Lovers and Lobotomy (detail)

Acrylic on wood, LED lights, 24 x 48 inches. 2019.

This mixed-media project sheds light on the history of lobotomy, a medical procedure in which the nerve pathways in a lobe or lobes of the brain are severed from those in other areas. From the late 1800s to the 1970s, lobotomy was an experimental “cure” for queer individuals. The cruel and debunked “conversion” method was ultimately abandoned in 1973 when the APA removed homosexuality from the DSM, its influential manual of psychiatric disorders. While the scientific community has distanced itself from its homophobic past, conversion therapy is still legal and unregulated on minors in 30 U.S. states.

Lovers and Lobotomy

Acrylic on wood, LED lights, 24 x 48 inches. 2019.

Confirmed Bachelor (Part 1)

Acrylic on wood, LED lights, 24 x 32 inches. 2019.

James Buchanan, the 15th U.S. President, spent his life as a “confirmed bachelor”, a term which indicates a man who never marries, often with the suspicion of being gay. This piece explores the untold narrative of Buchanan’s love life. Before taking office, Buchanan openly lived for 16 years with William Rufus King, a former senator from Alabama, ambassador to France, and Franklin Pierce’s vice president. Their peers knew about the relationship: Andrew Jackson referred to King as “Miss Nancy” (a euphemism for a gay man), some called King Buchanan’s “better half,” and one congressman referred to him as “Mrs. B.”

Confirmed Bachelor (Part 2)

Acrylic on wood, LED lights, 24 x 32 inches. 2019.

Confirmed Bachelor (Part 3)

Acrylic on wood, LED lights, 24 x 32 inches. 2019.

The Lavender Scare (Part 1)

Text: “Senator Joseph McCarthy (1908-1957) The Great American Protector Against Homosexual Infiltration,” Acrylic on Wood, LED Lights. 2019.

This series draws on. the "Lavender Scare", which paralleled the Red Scare, both anti-communist campaigns led by former U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy. The propaganda led to the mass dismissal —and often suspicious death—of queer people working for the United States government during the Cold War.

The Lavender Scare (Part 2)

Text: “Andrew Ference (1920-1954) American Embassy Civil Servant, Found Dead Two Days After Confessing to Homosexual Activities,” Acrylic on Wood, LED Lights. 2019.

Who Do We Memorialize

Mixed Digital Media. 2018.

This installation, I highlights the history of Alderman Residence Hall and Carr Building (a former residence hall at UNC). The designs featuring the faces of Carr, Alderman, and their respective buildings. By juxtaposing archaic imagery with contemporary technology, the viewer is invite to question the interaction between past and present. The digitally rendered collages are projected from overhead projectors within the residence hall. Residents and any passerby can scan the embedded QR codes to learn about the history of the buildings and the people UNC memorializes.

Normal Operating Conditions

Aluminum and Vinyl. 2018.

This public artwork draws upon the history of Playmakers Theater, Clark Cheek Building, and the Old Chapel Hill Cemetery. All three of these locations are steeped in social injustice. The cemetery dates back to the 1700s, and historically segregated African American graves, many of which are unmarked. This section of the cemetery was used for football tailgating through until 1970s. The signs were fabricated to mimic existing NC Department of Transportation markers, appearing homogeneous within the location until further inspection.

Ephemeral Epitaph

Plexiglass, 20x20x32 inches. 2018.

Created as part of a group exhibition, Monumenta, this transparent plinth showcases an incomplete list of people the university has failed to honor with a building, monument, or public space. In the midst of political tension surrounding UNC’s own confederate monument, many people are calling to question existing monuments around campus and reexamine UNC choses to memorialize. This anti-monument lists unsung heroes in a scarcely visible text, making reading the list an intimate and introspective experience.