Arthub Favorite: Week 114

DRAG: Self-portraits and Body Politics

Duration: 2018 August 22–October 14
Venue: Hayward Gallery, Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London SE1 8XX, United Kingdom

Featured Artists:

Eleanor Antin, Oreet Ashery, Renate Bertlmann, Leigh Bowery, Genesis Breyer P-Orridge, Luciano Castelli, Adam Christensen, Francesco Copello, Jimmy DeSana, Rose English, VALIE EXPORT, Samuel Fosso, Lynn Hershman Leeson, Ann Hirsch, David Hoyle, Michel Journiac, Birgit Jürgenssen, Paul Kindersley, Suzy Lake, Robert Mapplethorpe, Ana Mendieta, Pierre Molinier, Tony Morgan, Hunter Reynolds, Cindy Sherman, Victoria Sin, Jo Spence, Sturtevant, Ulay, Martha Wilson, David Wojnarowicz & Jesse Hultberg, Ming Wong, Cerith Wyn Evans

Curator: Vincent Honoré

DRAG: Self-portraits and Body Politics features the work of more than 30 artists who have used drag to explore or question identity, gender, class and politics, from the 1960s to the present day.

Alongside the work of established figures such as Pierre Molinier (1900–1976), VALIE EXPORT (b.1940), Robert Mapplethorpe (1946–1989), Ulay (b.1943) and Cindy Sherman (b.1954), the exhibition will include work by a younger generation of contemporary artists who have recently embraced drag as an art form, including Oreet Ashery (b.1966) and Victoria Sin (b.1991).

Rather than offering a linear or chronological narrative, this exhibition aims to present a multitude of voices. Expanding on traditional representations of drag, the exhibition features drag queens, drag kings and bio drags from a wide range of generations and backgrounds, many of whom explore cultural shifts of the past 50 years and touch on topics that include feminism, the AIDS crisis and post-colonial theory.

The exhibition will also include a number of new commissions and performances. Paul Kindersley (b.1985), whose work touches on class and consumerism, will create a new site-specific wall painting; Adam Christensen (b. 1979) will present a new performance for the opening night; and key figures from London’s drag scene—Timberlina, Shay Shay and That Ray—will lead a series of free exhibition tours.

For more details about this exhibition, please click here.