Queer history informs queer futurism. My queer spirituality accepts every sentient being on this earth as inexorably connected with each other, and with the earth, sea, sky and the firmament. I approach the creation of each work as an act of devotion. And although I see the act of devotion as a spiritual one, for me it is decidedly not a religious one. My work is not an act of devotion to any deity or mythological being. I believe that a true act of devotion supersedes the individual. Kindness is devotional, the awe of the sublime crashing of the waves upon the shoreline is devotional, the contemplation of the moon and stars is devotional, the ecstasy of gravity… our deep understanding that we’ve always been part of this universe, and to that stardust we shall return… is an act of devotion.
Sensuality is devotional and sex is devotional, as is the creation of the act of experiencing a work of visual or performing art. All involve our willingness to suspend logic and narrative. All involve an act of surrender.
Both in art and life, self-actualization necessitates the act of being true to yourself, and although one’s true self is more complex than just sexuality, the fact that I am a gay male is a huge part of who I am. The depth of my love for my husband is a foundational part of my life and a source of exquisite joy and growth over the course of well more than 30 years - most of my entire adult life. The fact that I live in a place where that love is threatened is a huge part of how I have had to move through the world. If I may guide you in the contemplation of this rather complex selection of works, then please approach it as an extended piece of poetry; a psalm to flesh, soil, water, air and spirit, and as a section of the path towards queer transcendence.