Priscilla Rose Howe
Aotearoa New Zealand, b.1994
Different versions, different bodies, different words
- 2023
- Oil pastel, acrylic and flashe on canvas
- Purchased 2023
- 1820 x 1520mm
- 2023/141
In the exhibition Springtime is Heartbreak (25 November 2023 to 19 May 2024) , this work was displayed with three others by the same artist with this label:
In this series of large works Priscilla Rose Howe imagines queer alternatives for how we feel and relate to each other. The works express the sensation of experiencing multiple emotions at once loneliness and excitement, or heartbreak and arousal - and allow contradictory feelings to coexist. Taking inspiration from horror films with femme protagonists, Priscilla similarly uses fear and disgust. Queasy perspectives, exaggerated features and lusting bodies develop queer spaces of refuge that exist beyond ordinary words and logic. Here, the subjects of Priscilla's drawings can escape the constant performance of 'normality' demanded by daily life.
The titles of the work signal a desire to create a new, messier world by turning our current one inside-out.