Queer Frontiers: Jess MacCormack
LOMAA is excited to welcome multidisciplinary artist Jess MacCormack for our second event in the Queer Frontiers series! Jess MacCormack’s work will be presented across various social media platforms, including a week-long video screening on LOMAA’s Vimeo page and a series of animated GIFs on LOMAA’s Instagram. The week will culminate with an online discussion between MacCormack and Rebecca Casalino followed by a Q&A. This event is presented in partnership with Femme Art Review who will also post Casalino’s review of MacCormack’s new book SHAME SHAME, go away on their website.
Below you will find details about the events, the artist, the program and the collaborators. Please email cnegus@lomaa.ca if you have a question regarding accessibility or viewing.
Video Screening:
Monday, April 19 to Sunday, April 25, 2021
Available for public viewing through Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/lomaa
Accessibility Note: Closed captioning available
Animated GIFs:
Tuesday, April 20 to Saturday, April 24, 2021
Available for public viewing through Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/l.o.m.a.a/
Online Discussion with Jess MacCormack and Rebecca Casalino:
Sunday, April 25, 2021 at 3 p.m. EST
Available for public viewing through Zoom.
Preregistration for the online discussion is required and the Zoom link will be provided within the Eventbrite confirmation email:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/queer-frontiers-jess-maccormack-in-discussion-with-rebecca-casalino-registration-150249559477
Content Note: Discussion includes descriptions of child abuse, sexual assault, and mental illness.
Accessibility Note: ASL interpretation available
Jess MacCormack on WHERE WE WERE NOT, PART I: Feeling Reserved, Alexus’ Story, 2011
This is the first part of a four-part experimental animated documentary I am working on about criminalization in Canada. Having worked for the past five years on art projects with marginalized and criminalized individuals, I am interested in sharing some of their stories and insights. Many women find creative ways to survive, their stories illuminate the strength and courage these women show as well as the oppressive conditions that define them.
“Women are the fastest growing prison population worldwide and this is not accidental. In Canada, we recognize that the now globalized destruction of social safety nets — from social and health services to economic and education standards, and availability is resulting in the increased abandonment of the most vulnerable, marginalized and oppressed.”
The law is intended to protect society from harm and create social order. Used as a method for controlling behavior and maintaining social norms, it is often produced so as to appease the masses with concepts of safety and security. In most western countries prison populations, as compared to outside populations, reflect disproportionate representation of racially discriminated groups. This extension of systematic racism is entrenched in the legal systems and purpose of prisons.
About Jess MacCormack
Their practice engages with the intersection of institutional violence and the socio-political reality of personal trauma. Working in various mediums, from installation and video to community art, their art explores queer politics, mental illness, embodiment and criminalization.
http://www.jessmaccormack.com/
Rebecca Casalino is an artist, writer and curator based in Hamilton, Ontario (Treaty 3) on the land of the Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabe First Nations people. She is a queer Italian-Canadian settler, maintaining her practice through deeply personal collaborations in her community and sheer willpower. Her art practice is currently focusing on drawing and multiples. Casalino has also previously worked in video, performance, sculpture, and installation. Casalino completed her BA in Studio Art, with a minor in English, at the University of Guelph in 2017. She co-managed VS Studios from 2017-2018 running numerous social practice projects. Casalino’s curatorial and research practices are based in queer theory and artists’ multiples. Casalino recently graduated from the Ontario College of Art and Design University with an MFA in Criticism and Curatorial Practice.
https://www.rebeccacasalino.com/
LOMAA’s Queer Frontiers critically reflects on Canada’s 50th anniversary celebration of the purported “decriminalization” of homosexuality in the country. Serving as a counter to the state revelries, LOMAA will host eight artists, artist duos or curators who have established practices post-legislation and remain on the frontiers of Canadian queer media. This project centres queer narratives and praxis as a means to interrogate historical representation and continue fortifying queer futures within this country.
For more background information please visit: https://anti-69.ca/
Femme Art Review (FAR) is a publication that provides space for both women and LGBTQ2+ voices. This platform aims to reflect on art and culture in a dynamic, accessible way that aligns with everyday life. The acronym FAR seems quite fitting, since there’s still a far way to go to reach equality, especially in the art and culture realm. By embracing diversity, Femme Art Review seeks to highlight emerging voices across Canada and internationally.
LOMAA would like to thank Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Arts Council and the London Arts Council for their support of this program and their continued backing.