Abstract
Taking Up Space, is an experiential space that holds body casted, cement sculptures of the artist’s queer community, including themself. These sculptures will be accompanied by a coffee table style photography book. Within the photography book there will be chapters titled the individuals names in order from who was first casted to who was last casted. Each chapter will be unique to each person’s own lived experience with queer closeness and intimacy. This book will be handbound and displayed to be handled by audience members. The sculptures will be returned to the individuals that were casted and will live within the chosen spaces of each person. While displayed they will live on pedestals within a living room set-up space. The living room space will be held as a communal place of gathering – a place where the public and private overlap. A place where people overhear and are immersed in conversation and connection. This connection and conversation that is had between the people casting will not only play a part in the photography books as dialogue, but will be meshed over each other to emulate background conversation held in a full living room. Where audience members can pick up some sentences but not all. While the artist gives their oral presentation the audio feature will play and all audience members will be welcome to sit on the couches, chairs, and floor pillows.
Artist Statement
Queer people deserve the ability to take up space in a way that feels accurately visible to them. Artist Isabel Sevilla is a multi-raced, queer, and non-binary individual who is consistently in the mindset of the intersectionalities that queer people hold. Queer folks have consistently been misrepresented, if represented at all. Isabel has been working on a project titled “Taking Up Space,” to gather, learn, celebrate, remember, and challenge the preconceived narratives of queer closeness and intimacy.
Outside of Isabel’s thesis work, they have been mentoring and educating queer youth with an organization called Brave Trails. Isabel’s role consists of preparing older kids attending the summer camp program with the resources to become possible camp counselors (if they feel that path fits them in the future.) Not only does Isabel work directly with queer youth but Isabel educates the youth and the staff there on intersectional practices in a camp space in the mindset of anti-racism. Alongside Isabel’s work comes the mindset of continuous activism and the ability to hold oneself accountable while taking the steps following the path their ancestors paved before them.
These activism-based works have definitely shaped Isabel into someone passionate about holding space and what that can look like depending on the audience and the centers of focus. While holding their upcoming exhibition space for their thesis work they plan on leading from a lens of education, experience, and the community care mindset. Again, Isabel’s exhibition is a time to gather, learn, celebrate, and remember. For queer and trans folks to gather. For folks who don’t have these experiences to learn. For the people represented to celebrate themselves and where they have come. And finally, for everyone to remember the queer ancestors that have opened up the floodgates of safe and healthy queer intimacy that we now get to hold and treasure.
