CAVERNOUS: Young Joon Kwak & Mutant Salon
Curated by Daniela Lieja Quintanar
July 12-August 26, 2018
*ARTFORUM Critics Pick*
LACE’s Summer Residency presents CAVERNOUS by artist Young Joon Kwak and Mutant Salon, a collective of queer-trans-femme-POC artists and performers and a platform for community collaborations. CAVERNOUS is a kaleidoscopic environment that queers the last bastion of manhood in the domestic space—the man cave. CAVERNOUS fractures the patriarchal myth of male privilege, and provides an access point for an ongoing critical deconstruction of how we view our bodies, and reimagines alternative forms of existence and desire.
Welcoming viewers at the entrance of CAVERNOUS, Young Joon Kwak presents new sculptures and a living queer archive that reclaims erased narratives and traces a lineage of radical present-future queer arts communities in Los Angeles. Kwak’s archive features a selection of unclassified objects by unknown artists from the ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, as well as custom wigs by stylists from historic Hollywood retailers displayed on ceramic wig stands designed by Kwak as a tribute to the artistry of these under-recognized wig stylists. The archive also includes a screening of video works and documentation by historically radical local performance artist Johanna Went, connecting the community of Mutant Salon with LACE’s 40 year history of supporting queer and feminist performance art.
Deeper in CAVERNOUS, Mutant Salon creates a temporary autonomous zone that fosters community-building and celebrates the bonds of critical resistance and togetherness in the act of self-care. Mutant Salon features sculptures, videos, interactive installations, lounging spaces, a zine library, a spring, and other surprises, which will transform throughout the duration of the exhibition. The opening of CAVERNOUS will feature several spectacular performances by members of Mutant Salon.
The LACE Summer Residency program has a commitment to reconnect with Hollywood surrounding communities. For this summer, CAVERNOUS, members of Mutant Salon host a workshop of radical writing and zine production for the youth community of My Friend’s Place. Programming also includes activities for the senior community at the Los Angeles LGBT Center, including a conversation on oral histories of queer resistance presented in collaboration with Dirty Looks On Location.
With their outdoor neon signage, Mutant Salon has designated LACE as femme, trans, gender non-binary, and inclusive. All gender expressions welcome.
Mutant Salon: Marvin Astorga, Jacinto Astiazarán, Dove Ayinde, Corazon Del Sol, Sarah Gail, Juan Gudiño, laub, Long Long (Thinh Nguyen), Alli Miller, Roxy Morataya, Anna Luisa Petrisko, Project Rage Queen (Alice Cunt, Dalton Chase Goulette, and TravisD), Matt Savitsky, and Kim Ye.
JEEP JEEP video game-presented by Anna Luisa Petrisko, Tonia B., Bela Messex and David Lyons.