'PETER'(2021)

PAT TYNAN

29 APR-21 MAY

Examining the impacts of Generational Trauma within the Queer community, ‘Peter’ honours the relationship between two gay men from different generations, immortalising their connection as keepers of Queer history and the impact of LGBTQIA+ persecution on the next generation of Queer adults.

Within each portrait, the motif of the ‘Birds of Paradise’ flower is heavily symbolic of Queer sexuality, implied through its phallic appearance.

The first portrait, a redesign of a school portrait taken in the weeks following ‘Peters’ death, represents hypersexuality within the high school experience whilst the second, inspired by drag culture, is representative of my acceptance of the responsibilities of Queer identity and storytelling. This is embodied through the reduction of the flowers to just two, symbolising myself and ‘Peter’s’ shared queer experience and lasting friendship.

Additionally, each text print includes extracts from diary entries written in the lead up to ‘Peter’s’ death and subsequent mourning period.