2020 MFA Thesis Exhibition: David Wesley White

“I use a research-based practice to examine personal and American history through a queer lens. I often fixate on forgotten or devastating events until I find visual clues hidden deep within them that feel particularly surreal or prophetic. I then use this source material like language; finding ways to manipulate meanings through specific interventions and arrangements. In recent work, I have been questioning the symbology of gay male culture, how it was born and reproduces itself without the ability to biologically reproduce.

“The creative process starts off fairly chaotic; I use trial and error with sculpture, performance, installation, and video, allowing the concept to drive my material choices. I know I am nearing the end of my process when the work begins to feel meditative and healing. In this way, I aim to unearth uncomfortable truths and transform them into allegories for a larger societal reckoning.

“Whether subversively performing in a replica of Reagan’s Oval Office, sewing bed sheets fitted over the bodies of queer companions, or miniaturizing the life-saving blast-holes from Pulse nightclub, my art traces and breaks through the edges of the established past. The American vision I present is dystopian and sublime, finding nuggets of humor and beauty within a continuum of political frustration and fear.”

For more information please visit https://davidwesleywhite.com/.