Damion Pollard
he/him
Bloomington, IN, USA
Damion is a visual artist currently getting his BFA in Metalsmithing + Jewelry design at Indiana University Bloomington.
“There was a time in my life when the only form of emotion I was allowed to express was “happiness”. If I was angry or sad, I would get lectured for being selfish. I would be told that I had nothing to be sad about and that I could “control my emotions”. This mask is supposed to represent the pain I felt having no one to seek comfort from, the pain of being misunderstood by friends, the pain of my own self-deprecation, the pain of my feelings being disregarded, the pain of being inconvenient, and the overwhelming presence of depression I had to face alone.”
What does being queer mean to you in relation to your material choices? Is it something you consider?
“I unfortunately avoid making queer art a lot of the time because I don't want my queerness to be the basis of my work. I make a lot of adornment about my journey as a person rather than my journey as a queer individual because I think that is what fits me best. My queerness is a part of me but not me as a whole. So it is not something I generally consider, but may be more open to that in the future as I get more comfortable making queer related work."
"My Grin", Copper, brass, and leather, 9.5” x 3.5” x 6”, 2023Is the work queer because the maker is queer, or is it queer because the subject matter is queer?
“The work is queer because I, the maker, is queer."
“This work is a result of me reflecting on a particular traumatic portion of my life. There were moments I felt like quitting and I am proud to say I didn't. Chasing and repoussé is a relatively new technique for me and this mask is a product of this technique venture. A way for me to process that moment through a new process was a very cathartic experience. I have made masks before but none had struck nearly as deep and close to me before. I like to think that I made a creature out of my self from those moments and this is me embodying them."