rae richards
they/them
Denver, CO, USA
rae is an artist and designer growing mutant objects that play with gender and sexuality. their interests range from queer theory and object-oriented ontology to industrial manufacturing processes and spirituality.
“instructions for use: for feeling through sensations in waves, when alternating between visceral and quiet discomfort. insert into open orifice to make an open, half, or closed circle.”
What does being queer mean to you in relation to your material choices? Is it something you consider?
“In thinking about what queering material choice means for me, I start with a rethinking what material means—questioning norms about the boundaries of the work, its material, the body or its context. In my work the body is material, and the material is the body. I build from Donna Haraway, José Esteban Muñoz, and Paul B Preciado’s theorizations of body and technology to play with interactions and ideas of what constitutes body and what does not."
"untitled ii (oooooo)", .925 silver, 0.6 oz, 1.25" x 1.5" x 0.25", 2023Is the work queer because the maker is queer, or is it queer because the subject matter is queer?
“I consider queer to be anything that is non-normative, a fluid and shifting becoming of identity. Queer here is not positioned against heterosexuality but rather a non-static phenomenon that is inherently political and embedded in histories of power relations. This means that queer is shaped by surrounding structures like neoliberal capitalism, racism, the state, and so on. Queer moves between, through, around, and beyond normative spaces, places, bodies, materials. For me, the work is queer because of both the maker and subject matter’s queerness—they are co-constituting factors, and the work reflects this."
Anything else you would like to share about this work? This can be an important part of the process, sourcing materials, or research.
“‘oooooo’ is one work out of a three-piece series that works with the body as the material."
