This project began by exploring two sources of imagery: the tornado scene from The Wizard of Oz and scenes from the film Querelle. The former is the very first sublime imagery I can remember seeing as a child, and the latter is sublime imagery I discovered as an adult. I created a miniature set loosely based on some of the color palettes and sounds from these films. I was thinking about how these two sources have become iconic symbols in a queer lexicon, but also how they can be used to create a new landscape to dream of possible futures or alternative mindscapes — an idea inspired by José Esteban Muñoz’s writings of a “queer futurity.” The project, for me, is as much about looking back to the origin of my imagination as it is about getting lost in an unfolding present or dreaming of possible futures.
The video projection fills the wall on the left. Directly opposite the projection on the other wall is a small alcove where a sculpture in the form of a tornado slowly turns.
The first two sentences of an original text are printed on a single strip of paper that forms a small tornado. As it slowly turns, the text is revealed.