As part of their exhibition 'Unicorn',  Perth Museum commissioned new work from me exploring living rurally as an LGBTQ+ person in Scotland - using Hunting the Unicorn as a central concept and metaphor for the challenges they face. 

 

From open prejudice, violence, and abuse, to microaggressions and oblivious ignorance, rural queerphobia can culminate in queer people feeling isolated, othered, or targeted by their local community,” Hayward tells us. I now live in the city but am conscious of the tendency to regard queer culture as primarily urban. For the countless Dorothys who don’t or won’t have the opportunity or desire to relocate, Kansas must be a safe and fulfilling place for them. 

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I have incorporated the unicorn into a sign he’s designed for the imagined village 'Kiljessie'. Below, it a typical community notice board, but viewers will quickly realise that what little is going on in this sleepy village doesn’t cater to its queer community. I want to direct all viewers, regardless of their own identity and circumstance to consider these notices from the perspective of a possibly vulnerable rural queer person. 

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'Unicorn' explores the rich significance of this mythical creature from antiquity to the present day, through art, science, social movements, and popular culture.  My work will be exhibited alongside important loans from around the world.