I'm An Insect Who Dreamed He Was A Man And Loved It, 2018
The title of this piece is a quote from David Cronenberg's The Fly (1986). It is a video loop which draws not only from The Fly, but also from “big bug” horror movies of the 1950s and from my own experiences growing up gay and trans in the suburbs. By “big bug” movies, I am referring to films such as Them! (1954), Beginning of the End (1957), The Deadly Mantis (1957), and others; these films are linked directly to white suburban fears of nuclear war. The 1958 version of The Fly, which stars Vincent Price, can be read similarly and most notably as a metaphor for the fears of technological advancement in the early years of the Cold War. I focused most predominantly on Cronenberg’s 1986 remake, however, due to its much more grotesque depictions of body horror and physical transformation as well as its relationship to homophobia and the AIDS epidemic (having been the subject of much critical writing to this point).
This piece reimagines the story of The Fly as one in which Brundle undergoes his monstrous transformation purposefully, knowing that his transition from human Brundle to hybrid Brundlefly will give him increased strength, confidence, and superhuman abilities. In the film, Brundle’s transition ends in his death, as he urges his girlfriend Ronnie (Geena Davis) to kill him and put him out of his misery. In a blog post, film critic Willow Catelyn Maclay notes that “In a narrative context [Brundle’s] failed science experiment is not inherently different from the people who died transitioning when surgeries were brand new and doctors didn’t know what they could and couldn’t do.” I was interested in exploring an alternate ending to the film wherein Brundle embraces his new form without feeling shame or dysphoria as a result of others around him pushing him to conform to societal norms.
In this piece, I give myself as Brundle a better ending in that my monstrous transformation/transition is a premeditated choice, with my physical body invoked via the hand-cut lettering and personal photos that make up the background. Copies of the companion zine BRUNDLEFAG, which expands on the concepts within the video and includes more personal poetry and other collaged elements, are distributed for free/pay what you want whenever this film is screened.
1:23 minutes looped. Stop motion and digital animation on 35mm photos.
Exhibitions
Twist and Twine, Paradice Palase's 2nd Annual Summer Open Call Show
Long Island City, NY - June 2019
TIMONIUM (None Of Us Like Each Other), Mount Royal School of Art 2018 Fall Show
Baltimore, MD - November 2018
This piece reimagines the story of The Fly as one in which Brundle undergoes his monstrous transformation purposefully, knowing that his transition from human Brundle to hybrid Brundlefly will give him increased strength, confidence, and superhuman abilities. In the film, Brundle’s transition ends in his death, as he urges his girlfriend Ronnie (Geena Davis) to kill him and put him out of his misery. In a blog post, film critic Willow Catelyn Maclay notes that “In a narrative context [Brundle’s] failed science experiment is not inherently different from the people who died transitioning when surgeries were brand new and doctors didn’t know what they could and couldn’t do.” I was interested in exploring an alternate ending to the film wherein Brundle embraces his new form without feeling shame or dysphoria as a result of others around him pushing him to conform to societal norms.
In this piece, I give myself as Brundle a better ending in that my monstrous transformation/transition is a premeditated choice, with my physical body invoked via the hand-cut lettering and personal photos that make up the background. Copies of the companion zine BRUNDLEFAG, which expands on the concepts within the video and includes more personal poetry and other collaged elements, are distributed for free/pay what you want whenever this film is screened.
1:23 minutes looped. Stop motion and digital animation on 35mm photos.
Exhibitions
Twist and Twine, Paradice Palase's 2nd Annual Summer Open Call Show
Long Island City, NY - June 2019
TIMONIUM (None Of Us Like Each Other), Mount Royal School of Art 2018 Fall Show
Baltimore, MD - November 2018
