In this collage, I’m exploring the ways queer and gay bodies are seen and understood. I brought together two very different images: one from a gay adult magazine from the 1980s and a film still of Marlon Brando. The piece circles around themes of desire and secrecy. Brando, though closeted, was rumored to be a passionate lover behind closed doors, yet he was protected and celebrated because he could pass as straight. The figure from the adult magazine is also searching for intimacy and desire, but unlike Brando, he carries the weight of stigma attached to pornography and queer sexuality. Together, these images highlight the tension between what is hidden, what is performed, and what is condemned.
 
Original Handmade collage
8x10 inches
2023