Halls' theme for this year’s BREATHING SPACE 2.0 was; Breathe for it/ Breathing spaces.
HERE is a mural about being authentic and taking up space. It focuses specifically on queer bodies in the creation of space and is a reminder that we don’t only take up space but exist in the very fabric of the spaces that make up the city. (In this case Braamfontein, Johannesburg) The mural is a portrait of two queer men, composed and framed yet also soft and lingering. They represent us, a body of people who are fearless, courageous, and defiant. They are the vanguards. They stand to salute and also to remind us that there is more to come, that they have left their mark and that they reflect all of us. The piece is layered both in its meaning and its experience and attempts a new way of creating street art.
The mural is experimental and saw me exploring the the street art application of wheat-pasting.. However, instead of using bond paper I substituted it with tracing paper. The choice of paper was my attempt to play with the many different layers of colours and lines altogether. Therein highlighting our layered and lived experience.
The mural calls on the viewer to touch and engage, to tear off and remove parts of it and to slowly reveal the base layer; a simple form. This action reminds us that queer bodies are resilient and cannot be removed from the making of space. The project is also a reminder that space is not always a creation of the physical but rather that it is shaped and inspired by the collective experience.
