From
May 24th through August 5th, 2018, English musician/visual artist ANOHNI has an
exhibition on display at the Nikolaj Contemporary Art Center in the heart of
Copenhagen. The exhibit, entitled “Miracle Now,” features mixed media across
the two stories of the building and largely interacts with drag queen culture
in mid-20th century New York City. ANOHNI, as a transgender woman
who performs in drag and lives in New York, has a very deep-rooted and personal
understanding of these issues.
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Image 1: Exhibition cover art |
The
first-floor exhibit starts in a white-walled room that features several framed
newspaper articles and government forms on all sides of the room. The articles
cover a wide range of topics such as global warming, the melting solar icecap,
the AIDS crisis, and famous drag queens Sylvia Rivera and Marsha P Johnson. The
pieces on the walls create a conversation, as each article reflects or expands
on an aspect of another article. Through this careful curation of related
events and stories, Anohni’s voice emerges effectively as a discussion guide.
In
contrast to this naturally-lit bright room, there is a dark curtain on the left
wall that leads to another part of the exhibit. The haunting music played
loudly through speakers in the dark room acts as a soundtrack for that space,
as well as a muffled soundtrack for the brighter room.
The
dark space is instantly captivating, as the only light sources are nine projectors
that play short video loops of drag queens—with the exception of one image of a
fetus on the back wall. Each loop does not have its own unique sound: they are
all accompanied by the same haunting soundtrack. In the low frequency range, there
is a consistent wind-like flow of sound that gives the music more dimensionality.
In the mid-high frequency range, notes are played in a sort of raindrop fashion
seemingly with no pattern (and yet none of the notes clash). Although the music
was slow and each loop captured only a drag queen’s facial expression or a few gestures,
there was a real sense of urgency and emotional distress in the space.
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Image 2: Drag queen wrapped in plastic and covered in blood |
The
first projection is a drag queen on stage, wrapped in plastic and covered in
blood (Image 2). She squirmed under the spotlight as audience members screamed, though it
is unclear whether they were supportive or unsupportive shouts. This also seems
to be the only projection that comes with a bit of its own sound. Other
projections feature queens mouthing a few words and staring off into the
distance; performing on stage; and a face with a plaster-like mask on it. Although
the drag queens were all done-up in their performance-wear, the empty
expressions and looped motion, coupled with the eerie soundtrack, made for a
very unglamorous depiction of a drag queen’s life. The looping also gave the
impression that each iteration was different–that somehow, the queens looked a
little more tired and detached with each repetition.
This
is symbolic of the oppression that drag queens faced and still face today, and
how mere gestures or words constantly generate judgement and often aggressive responses
from others. Showing the inner turmoil and emotional trauma that occurs for the
drag community was very powerful, as they are typically thought of as quite
exuberant and bold. As I immersed myself deeper into this space, the sense of
urgency increased as I felt trapped in this dark and unrestful room. I reached
a point at which I simply had to exit because I grew very anxious and it became
difficult to breathe. After leaving, I heard short speaking excerpts being
played in the room but couldn’t make out exact words as it was muffled through
the curtains. Even that act of sudden fear and running away made me feel like I
was the oppressor–that I had left the drag queens without a voice, and that I
only chose to hear their voices in muffled fashion.
AHNONI successfully curated a space
for drag queens to be seen and heard both clearly and indistinctly. The
emotional weight each room carried was palpable, and each room provoked a lot
of contemplation surrounding oppression and progress since the mid-20th century,
or lack thereof. However, a multiple-story exhibit by a transgender artist representing
the voices of an oppressed community is a hopeful leap forward.
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