Hope '22 This Weekend @ Ingleside Gallery (I'm in in!!)

Crystal's Queerly Complex World, 16" X 24", Print 1 of 1, $300

I have two limited edition Queerly Complex Worlds prints up at Ingleside Gallery (1507 Ocean Ave, SF) this weekend. They are 16" 24" and printed on high definition satin material. The colors look incredible, and the Xposer hanging device makes the print look like it is floating on your wall.

Queerly Complex Worlds is a reimagining though collage past art & work I have made over the last 20+ years of living in San Francisco. The backgrounds are inspired by my Multiple Realities (available as free Zoom Backgrounds & Profile Squares), where I layer, mirror, and distort photos taken by my phone to create complex possible realities that evoke dreams and wonder.

The silhouettes in the image are inspired by two different inquiries. The first is a series of portraits I did for The Issue #1, which was an intergenerationally produced magazine by youth media artists & practitioners that accompanied a poem by Nyabingha Zianni from Richmond, CA. The second is a series of paper dolls I made for an installation called Be Jason, which took place October - November 2018 at Black & White Projects in San Francisco.

This silhouette of Crystal Mason, Co-Founder of Queering Dreams, is from a performance they did, conceived and directed by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto titled Alif is for Intifada (aka The Queer Intifada). On Crystal's silhouette is a symbol I made representing DreamStudy, a value Crystal & I both hold.

Crystal's Queerly Complex World represents a view into what already exists in this world that is surviving amongst capitalism, White Supremacy, ableism, colonialism, and all oppressive & dominating systems despite all efforts to kill that which is queer. It is a demand for beauty, for pause, for being seen as the powerful mystics we are, the ones who widen vision because to not widen our vision and deepen our empathy and compassion is to not be queer.

For this weekend only, I will be gifting reprints of a poem I composed from a project I did called #WhereDoYouBelongProject that engaged youth in asking questions about belonging, place, and identity of their peers, neighbors, and comrades. If you purchase either Crystal's Queerly Complex World or Paul's Queerly Complex World (not pictured here), you will also get a signed copy of the poem that also includes few finishing touches by hand (not available on the other reprints).

If you'd like to purchase one of these two prints and cannot get out to Ingleside Gallery, please contact me at jason [at] queerlycomplex [dot] com. Sales for these prints will go through Ingleside Gallery, and I can help facilitate the sale. I am thrilled to be support Shrey Purohit's new gallery in the Ingleside neighborhood because the Ingleside is where I was first invited to exhibit and perform thanks to Maria Picar and the OMI Cultural Participation Project.

And for a special treat, here is a digital version of the print available this weekend only.