I chose to focus on historical injustice towards homosexuality for my Political project. This began with me looking at Henry Du Pré Labouchere's agreement in 1861, that officially made homosexuality illegal in England. I wanted to focus on characters through time that have suffered as a result of the law, namely Oscar Wilde and Alan Turing.
I felt that through the project I could posthumously liberate the men in some way. We live in a world where sexual liberty and expression is increasingly accepted yet equally increasingly under threat due to, to offer but one example, Donald Trump's regression as regards to LGBT rights in America and without even mentioning the medieval treatment of homosexuality in the middle and far east. I wanted my project to be about about pride but also to honour and appreciate the sociopolitical climates and historical clothing of the eras my two characters lived in.
I conducted extensive research and remain to find the process of combining mixed mediums- print, digital collage, pencil, pastel, ink, chalk etc- effective in producing prolific research and design development pages.
Alan Turing famously invented the technology on which all computers are based, when developing a code breaking machine, during the second world war. After national celebration of his achievements as a war hero, he was found with a male lover and, because of the Labouchere act, forced to choose between prison and chemical castration. He chose the latter. Imagery of lurid green chemicals and syringes informed some of my colour decisions whilst personal photographs of Turing contributed to my mood when designing.
Oscar Wilde was the flamboyant and celebrated writer of such plays as 'The Importance of Being Earnest' and held a respected position in society. He championed expression but was caught and prosecuted under the Labouchere agreement. He was forbidden from truly being himself and went to prison for his sexuality. I wanted to honour details from his own clothing, which he used to subtly express himself, via the ruffle, the pocket flower and the satin bound lapel, to name but three details.
I chose to reference the persecution of homosexuals during the Holocaust, imagining the victims reclaiming the stripes of their 'pyjama-like' uniform and filling them with colour like the stripes of the pride flag. I imagined this as a fantastic 'fuck you' to Hitler's oppression, however I felt as if the concept (denoting of a project all to itself) was somewhat lost amongst the main themes of Turing and Wilde and that to not fully explore the idea was perhaps a little insensitive/ remiss.
I introduced the idea of a fictional meeting to the project also. This was Wilde, Turing and a Holocaust-persecuted Homosexual meeting at a 21st century Pride march and being enamoured by the freedom and expression. I saw this as profoundly quaint and potently sincere fictional moment.
My collection as a whole feels necessary in the current sociopolitical climate, where right-wing nationalism and intolerance spreads the world. The multicoloured pride-stripe offers well-needed symbolism of happiness and expression and offers protest to the, at times, frankly Dystopian nature of the current world.
I felt that through the project I could posthumously liberate the men in some way. We live in a world where sexual liberty and expression is increasingly accepted yet equally increasingly under threat due to, to offer but one example, Donald Trump's regression as regards to LGBT rights in America and without even mentioning the medieval treatment of homosexuality in the middle and far east. I wanted my project to be about about pride but also to honour and appreciate the sociopolitical climates and historical clothing of the eras my two characters lived in.
I conducted extensive research and remain to find the process of combining mixed mediums- print, digital collage, pencil, pastel, ink, chalk etc- effective in producing prolific research and design development pages.
Alan Turing famously invented the technology on which all computers are based, when developing a code breaking machine, during the second world war. After national celebration of his achievements as a war hero, he was found with a male lover and, because of the Labouchere act, forced to choose between prison and chemical castration. He chose the latter. Imagery of lurid green chemicals and syringes informed some of my colour decisions whilst personal photographs of Turing contributed to my mood when designing.
Oscar Wilde was the flamboyant and celebrated writer of such plays as 'The Importance of Being Earnest' and held a respected position in society. He championed expression but was caught and prosecuted under the Labouchere agreement. He was forbidden from truly being himself and went to prison for his sexuality. I wanted to honour details from his own clothing, which he used to subtly express himself, via the ruffle, the pocket flower and the satin bound lapel, to name but three details.
I chose to reference the persecution of homosexuals during the Holocaust, imagining the victims reclaiming the stripes of their 'pyjama-like' uniform and filling them with colour like the stripes of the pride flag. I imagined this as a fantastic 'fuck you' to Hitler's oppression, however I felt as if the concept (denoting of a project all to itself) was somewhat lost amongst the main themes of Turing and Wilde and that to not fully explore the idea was perhaps a little insensitive/ remiss.
I introduced the idea of a fictional meeting to the project also. This was Wilde, Turing and a Holocaust-persecuted Homosexual meeting at a 21st century Pride march and being enamoured by the freedom and expression. I saw this as profoundly quaint and potently sincere fictional moment.
My collection as a whole feels necessary in the current sociopolitical climate, where right-wing nationalism and intolerance spreads the world. The multicoloured pride-stripe offers well-needed symbolism of happiness and expression and offers protest to the, at times, frankly Dystopian nature of the current world.
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| Collage author's own- using imagery from multiple sources |
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| Author's own |
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