A monument and memorial to all of the lesbians, lesbian bars, and lesbian spaces we have lost.

Lesbian bars/spaces are disappearing and not a lot of people are talking about it. And nobody knows the history unless you experienced it yourself. It is crazy to see the world digressing in so many aspects of queer life when so much has been fought for. I want to show the smiles, tears, sexiness, frowns, anger, fear, love, etc.

Printing on toilet paper instead of anything else portrays its value. I used this to represent how at lesbian bars in the mid-20th century, two pieces of toilet paper were given out to people who needed to use the bathroom because they could not afford it. The red light portrays one that they would switch on when the cops were around meaning you had to stop being yourself. No dancing, no touching, no drinking, and your fate led up to the garments you wore. The space of the metal bars in the corner represents the tightness of the bathroom or “Stall”. I wanted to show the actual size of these bathrooms in a way you could feel all of these things. The pictures were collaged in a way a bathroom looked like. This space represents a place of individuality, sex, privacy, etc. I really wanted to portray these things literally and figuratively so people could actually see what people had to do to survive. 

Stall of Erasure

Acetate clear film, archived photos, red light, metal pipes, chain, toilet paper, cyanotype, nails

6’ x 6’ x 4’

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Forgive me father for I have sinned…