QUEERING THE HOME
With his project Queeriosities, curator Davy Pittoors spotlights the work of LGBTQ+ creatives and creates a space for elevating the expression of their identities through art, craft and design. In his practice, Pittoors is often interrogating the ideas of queer belonging and home-making and his latest initiative is deeply rooted in these two notions. Taking place this weekend (from the 1st to the 3rd of December) at East London’s Museum of the Home, the holiday edition of the Queeriosities Art and Makers Fair will provide a platform for over 40 emerging creators working across paintings, ceramics, sculpture and homeware – ensuring that queer stories continue to live on through the circulated artworks, objects and ephemera. Ahead of the market’s launch, we spoke to Richard Kilroy, Posh Arthur and Ettore Larsen – three artists exhibiting at the fair – about the ways in which their practice helps them explore their queerness and their favourite Christmas gifts.
Posh Arthur
Posh Arthur
When did you first start making art and what was the initial impulse that made you want to pursue this path?
I’ve always enjoyed drawing or making ceramics with my brother as a kid but I really got into art during my Fine Arts studies in London. At that time, I was figuring myself out and connecting the dots between my interests. It was only later, during the lockdown, that I felt the need to start making collages from the vintage gay magazines I had at home.
Why is your practice an essential part of your life?
I'm really into images, always on the hunt. Turning them into collages is an immediate yet very playful and meditative process for me. It's my way of making them truly mine and presenting them exactly as I see them.
How does your art help you explore your queer identity?
My art deeply shapes my queer identity. Right now, I'm inspired by the imagery of the 1970s and ‘80s, particularly the beauty of those young gays in the magazines I collect. With my collages, I blend my desires with a fantasized past, exploring the representation of liberated gay sexuality and, ultimately, reflecting on my own journey.
Who are some of the queer artists that mean the most to you?
David Hockney for his way of painting gay love that profoundly resonates with me, Tom Bianchi's polaroids because I wish I had been there, Jack Pierson’s unique sensibility, Ken Haak’s photos for their warmth…
What's the best Christmas gift you have ever received?
It has to be the socks my mom gives me each year! I'm unapologetically a mommy's boy.
Richard Kilroy
When did you first start making art and what was the initial impulse that made you want to pursue this path?
Since I could pick up a crayon and most likely being encouraged by my parents.
Why is your practice an essential part of your life?
I don't know if essential is the right word, but it's cathartic and creative minds need creative outlets. Realising how meditative drawing is, I’m not sure what I would be like now had I not had it throughout my life.
How does your art help you explore your queer identity?
Drawing beautiful men and erect cocks pretty much reaffirms my status as a homosexual man. It has helped me realise my insecurities, obsessions and constant need for validation. I’m still a commercial illustrator at heart.
Who are some of the queer artists that mean the most to you?
Lily Savage aka Paul O'Grady. Lily was an incredible creation, perfectly in tune with my surroundings growing up in Liverpool. All deaths are sad but the deaths of comedians particularly so, knowing they made so many people happy.
1980s fashion illustrators Tony Viramontes and George Stavrinos had a big influence on my own work, particularly Stavrinos who still goes under-celebrated today. His men and homoerotic work for the likes of Gentleman’s Quarterly and Christopher Street Magazine were hugely influential in late ‘70s / early '80s American gay publishing. I run an Instagram dedicated to him @georgestavrinos .
What’s the best Christmas gift you have ever received?
I received a lot of Lego as a kid and I think the primary colours of the ‘80s / ‘90s sets have infiltrated my work. I still love it as an adult. I recently rebuilt and resold all of my childhood Lego on eBay, it was bittersweet (but surprisingly profitable).
Richard Kilroy
Ettore Larsen
When did you first start making art and what was the initial impulse that made you want to pursue this path?
I've been painting ever since I can remember. My teachers would tell me off constantly for drawing on school property or working on my own comic books during class.
Why is your practice an essential part of your life?
It just brings me so much peace. It's like free therapy.
How does your art help you explore your queer identity?
Because painting to me is a way to filter my world and my experiences, it allows for a lot of self-reflection. My work is really personal and brings a lot of questions for myself on subjects like self-image and relationships.
Who are some of the queer artists that mean the most to you?
Pedro Almodóvar! For so many reasons, also his movies remind me of home.
What’s the best Christmas gift you have ever received?
I have the same wish list every year: new underwear and Muji stationery. It's all about the simple pleasures.
Ettore Larsen
Interviews by Martin Onufrowicz