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This is a Record by Christopher Selleck
Opening Reception: Saturday, September 22nd, 6-9 PM
Closing Reception: Thursday, October 25th, 6-9 PM
Show Runs: September 22 – October 27, 2018Saturday, September 22nd, 6-9 PM
Growing up in the 1980’s/90’s as a closeted gay man, Selleck felt like an outside observer to masculinity. Using sports and masculinity as a lens to view identity, his various projects of the last few years have focused on this area of identity construction. His work explores the tension between social ideals of what is it to be a man and how he and others react to that. Christopher Selleck’s This is a Record will be the first solo exhibition at SooVAC to occupy both back gallery spaces.
In one half of the space Selleck will display large scale color photographs, examining the lack of realistic or authentic gay representation in cultural spaces, primarily in television of that era. The other side of the gallery will utilize installation, sculpture, video, polymer photogravure and photography to recreate potential for encounters that men found in men’s rooms. Cruising was a method of connecting when social acceptance of gay identity was less common place and discretion was necessary. The adjoining back room of the installation references the back rooms of many gay bars specifically the back bar of the gay 90’s with references to Big Daddy’s and the Locker Room, both now closed bathhouses. The architecture and light of this space alludes to photography dark rooms, which much like locker rooms and back rooms, are also transformative spaces.
This installation will also include Photogravures of these noted Minneapolis cruising spots with their invitations and markings that serve as a record of the potential engagements present, past or future. While gay and queer representation is becoming highly visible and increasingly younger people are finding acceptance earlier, messages on the walls remind us of that earlier time.
Much like vinyl records and photogravure, these antiquated methods of production, are meant to be a tongue in cheek gesture hence the display of Fastlove by George Michael, reminding the viewer that This is a Record. Even with the infinite stream of information and the potential for endless connections provided by the internet, many young gay and queer men still feel a sense of isolation and loneliness brought on by the lack of physical spaces that our app based culture has inadvertently eliminated.
Christopher Selleck was born in Augusta, GA. He received his BFA in Photography from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities in 2013 and his MFA in Visual Studies and Photography from the Minneapolis College of Art & Design in 2016. Selleck’s work has been exhibited regionally and nationally at places such as the Plains Art Museum, Rochester Art Center, The DeVos Art Museum, The Duluth Art Institute among others.
This exhibition is sponsored by Big Al’s and French Meadow Bakery & Café.
