Exhibiting artists include: Carecuca, Deep Pool, Isabella Balbi, Monica Flores, Andrea A. Reséndiz Gómez, Dauris Martinez, Xiomara Malpica-Martinez, Katherine Miranda, Néstor Daniel Pérez Moliére

QUEER NATURE presents works by New York City-based LGBTQIA+ artists who challenge the hetero- normative discourse around sex and gender, while re-imagining nature through the queer experience. One of the primary arguments against homosexuality is the belief that it is not deemed as "natural", therefore cannot be considered normal. Nature is often weaponized to justify homophobia and transphobia, falsely using biology as a means to enforce social constructs. Some cells reproduce asexually, same-sex behaviors occur in hundreds of species of animals, numerous plants and animals are hermaphroditic; many of them switching genders. How can one consider homosexuality unnatural when it is evident in nature?

Participating artists in Queer Nature disrupt the idealistic concepts of "nature" or "natural" that have been constructed through a Western, heteronormative lens. Encompassing photography, installation, video, mixed media and more, viewers are immersed in a space that reveals how nature defies being categorized and placed into the binary model. Rather, we see nature's true form reflected in these artworks- complex and diverse. Some of the artists use nature as a means to escape prescriptive identities and codes of conduct, creating spaces or narratives of belonging; others reveal how nature itself is queer.

Carecuca's film employs stop motion, sound, and voice over, probing the link between space and the subconscious. Symbolizing metamorphosis, Deep Pool's Chimera Butterfly acts as a conduit of their recent gender transition, exploring the myriad complexities of their experience. Isabella Balbi's paintings seek to transcribe the feeling of tranquility through abstracted details of nature; holding space to re-think the relationship of their queerness to the natural world. Using self-portraiture, Monica Flores' cyanotypes are woven with words of affirmation, acting as an intimate and cathartic expression of healing for queer bodies.

Andrea A. Reséndiz Gómez's bronze sculpture celebrates the human body while exploring the relationship of itself to its surroundings; emphasizing the symbiotic relationship of nature and human. Dauris Martinez builds assemblages that confront his identity through constructing and reconstructing images of the body and landscape. In his video, Martinez plays with and reclaims derogatory Spanish terms used to insult gay men through capturing intimate shots of birds in natural environments. In Xiomara Malpica-Martinez's self-portrait, the artist merges with nature, prompting us to contemplate our own connection to the natural world. Created during lock down, Katherine Miranda's digital collages unveil intimate moments surrounded by nature, beginning their journey into self discovery. Néstor Daniel Pérez Moliére's photographs invite us into a queer utopia full of possibility while concurrently crafting a space that accounts for depression, loneliness, and shame as an entry point into a larger discussion around issues within the queer community.

Lizzy Alejandro is a visual artist and curator. Alejandro’s work has been exhibited at Fordham University, Taller Boricua Gallery, Lehman College Art Gallery, BronxArtSpace, Andrew Freedman Home, Lincoln Hospital, the Galleries at Krasdale Foods, the Bronx Latin American Art Biennial, Empty Set Gallery, Longwood Art Gallery, El Barrio’s Artspace PS109, River Front Art Gallery, Bethany Arts Community, the Photoville 11th Annual Festival, Hopkinton Center for the Arts, and Piano Craft Gallery. She holds an MFA in digital media from Lehman College.

Exhibition Date: March 2 - April 1, 2023

Location: Bronx Art Space

700 Manida Street, Ground Floor Entrance on Spofford Ave

Bronx, NY 10474

Gallery hours: Thursday + Friday 2-6pm, Saturday 12-5pm

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