What is home – a concept, a physical space, a person, a feeling? It is a question preoccupying artists in New York, who consider the meaning of home through the lens of queer and trans domesticity in a new group exhibition ‘Dreaming of Home’ at Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art.
The show takes Catherine Opie’s seminal 1993 photograph Self-Portrait/Cutting (below) as its central reference, marking its 30th anniversary in an exploration of the ways artists are carving out space for themselves. ‘Home can mean so many things – stability and safety, domesticity, family, connection with others, with yourself,’ says curator Gemma Rolls-Bentley. ‘Catherine Opie's artwork, which sparked the idea for the exhibition, depicts a pretty traditional view of “home”. The image of a house cut into her back is drawn in a childlike manner, suggesting that “home” is something we are all seeking and aspiring to but society's expected version of “home” can be very limited. For queer people, the dream of home can be painful, hardwon and […] can challenge society's expectations of what home should mean or look like.’
