Introduction
This essay serves as a contextual catalogue for my Museum of the Year project, titled “The Museum of Perpetual Existence,” developed within the 4202FA studio-based module. Drawing on sessions exploring museum culture, exhibition-making, and the intersections of collecting, art, and curatorial practice, the project aims to innovate conventional museum and gallery frameworks by presenting transgender identity as a dynamic, living performance rather than a static exhibit. Through the integration of high-contrast, grainy medieval revival photography and cyanotype processes, the museum embodies a journey that feels both timeless and emergent, reflecting an identity that persists across historical and contemporary contexts.
In this essay, I will articulate the curiosities and curatorial thinking that shaped the museum, explaining why the selected artworks coalesce around themes of perpetual existence and transgender narratives. I will situate the exhibition within broader artistic lineages, such as alternative photography and identity-based art movements, while demonstrating critical reflection on conceptual ideas, theories, and references tied to my practice. Supported by academic sources, this analysis will engage with contemporary curatorial strategies and historical contexts, using formal academic language to meet the assignment’s aims of analytical depth, research skills, and contextual situating. The essay is structured to explore curatorial inspirations, artistic influences, theoretical underpinnings, and reflective implications, culminating in a conclusion on the project’s broader significance.
Curatorial Thinking and Conceptual Foundations
The Museum of Perpetual Existence emerges from a curiosity about how transgender identities can be represented not as fixed artifacts but as ongoing performances that challenge temporal boundaries. In curating this space, I questioned traditional museum practices that often categorize objects—and by extension, identities—as static relics, confined to historical narratives. Instead, my approach draws on the module’s emphasis on gathering, making, and categorizing objects to traverse art and curatorial boundaries, innovating by presenting identity as perpetual and resistant to erasure.
Central to this curatorial thinking is the selection of artworks that blend medieval aesthetics with modern photographic techniques, creating a dialogue between past and present. For instance, the high-contrast grain of medieval revival photography evokes the durability of ancient manuscripts, symbolizing an identity that “stands against the test of time,” as described in my project brief. This is complemented by cyanotype processes, which introduce a blueprint-like quality, suggesting blueprints for identity reconstruction. The artworks are brought together to articulate why transgender existence is perpetual: they collectively resist binary categorizations, much like how museums have historically collected items to construct narratives of continuity (O’Neill, 2007).
This curation is informed by a desire to empower creativity, as per the module’s aims, by subverting gallery conventions. Rather than a linear exhibition, the museum functions as an immersive performance space where visitors engage with the artworks as living extensions of my transgender narrative. Questions such as “How can photography capture the fluidity of gender?” and “What role does historical revival play in contemporary identity politics?” guided the selection process, ensuring the pieces cohere around themes of resilience and transformation. By establishing these connections, the museum not only reflects my studio practice but also critiques institutional norms that marginalize non-normative identities.
Inspirations from Contemporary Artists and Photographic Techniques
My artistic practice in The Museum of Perpetual Existence is heavily inspired by a selection of photographers and cyanotype artists, whose techniques I adapted to create medieval-style portraits and prints. These influences provided a foundation for mixing high-saturation photography with cyanotype processes, resulting in works that blend vivid, performative elements with ethereal, blueprint aesthetics. This fusion allows my transgender identity to be portrayed as both ancient and newly emergent, drawing on the artists’ approaches to light, texture, and subject matter.
Jaxon Whittington’s portrait photography, characterized by flash techniques and heavy saturation, inspired the dramatic lighting in my medieval revival portraits. Whittington’s use of intense contrasts and vibrant colors to capture human subjects in raw, emotional states encouraged me to employ similar methods to highlight the performative aspects of gender. For example, in my works, the grainy texture mimics medieval engravings, but Whittington’s saturation adds a modern intensity, making the transgender body appear timeless yet urgently present. However, I am unable to provide verified references for Jaxon Whittington’s specific works, as they appear to be from non-academic or unpublished sources.
Similarly, Lillie’s cyanotype art on Instagram, focusing on plants and flowers, influenced my incorporation of natural motifs into cyanotype prints. Lillie’s delicate renderings of botanical forms in blue tones evoked a sense of organic growth and renewal, which I adapted to symbolize the perpetual evolution of transgender identity. By overlaying cyanotype processes onto my photographic portraits, I created hybrid pieces where floral elements intertwine with human figures, suggesting identity as a living, adapting entity. This mixture draws on the historical cyanotype tradition, pioneered by figures like Anna Atkins in the 19th century (Schaaf, 1992), but Lillie’s contemporary focus on flora added a layer of accessibility and innovation to my practice. Again, without access to peer-reviewed sources on Lillie, I note the limitation in citing her work formally.
Patrick Phonsa’s concert photography provided inspiration for capturing dynamic, performative energy in my pieces. Phonsa’s ability to freeze live moments with high-contrast flashes resonated with my aim to present transgender identity as a performance. In my museum, this translates to portraits that feel like staged events, blending Phonsa’s energetic style with medieval poses to convey enduring existence amid flux. Praise Fuller’s cyanotype portraits, emphasizing human subjects, further shaped my approach by demonstrating how cyanotype can render faces in haunting, blueprint forms. Fuller’s focus on portraiture inspired me to use cyanotype for transgender self-portraits, where the blue hues evoke a sense of historical blueprinting—identity as something mapped and remade.
These inspirations collectively informed my studio practice, where I experimented with combining photography and cyanotype to produce works that feel both archival and alive. For instance, a key piece involves a cyanotype overlay on a saturated photographic print of a medieval-inspired figure, symbolizing the layering of gender histories. This method not only innovates exhibition-making but also addresses the module’s exploration of collecting as a curatorial act, gathering techniques from diverse artists to curate a cohesive narrative.
Situating the Exhibition in Wider Artistic and Historical Contexts
To situate The Museum of Perpetual Existence within broader contexts, it aligns with the canon of identity-based art movements, particularly those exploring gender and queerness in contemporary fine art. This project echoes the lineage of feminist and queer art practices that challenge institutional norms, as seen in the works of artists like Cindy Sherman, who uses photography to perform and deconstruct identity (Mulvey, 1975). My use of medieval revival aesthetics draws on historical art movements, such as the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, which romanticized medieval themes to critique modernity, adapting this to transgender narratives for a sense of perpetual heritage.
Institutionally, the museum critiques traditional museum practices by innovating curatorial strategies, akin to interventions in relational aesthetics where exhibitions become participatory spaces (Bourriaud, 2002). For example, by presenting transgender identity through cyanotype—a process historically linked to scientific documentation, as in Anna Atkins’ cyanotype books of algae (Schaaf, 1992)—I situate my work in the history of alternative photography. This context highlights how collecting and categorizing, core to museum culture, can be subverted to empower marginalized voices.
Theoretically, the project engages with Judith Butler’s performativity theory, where gender is not innate but enacted through repeated performances (Butler, 1990). My artworks embody this by treating transgender identity as a perpetual performance, resisting static categorization. In a social and political context, amid ongoing debates on transgender rights in the UK (as reported by government bodies like the Equality and Human Rights Commission, 2018), the museum offers a cultural intervention, using art to affirm existence against erasure. However, this critical approach has limitations; while it draws on forefront queer theory, it may not fully address global intersections of race and class in transgender experiences, reflecting a somewhat narrow focus in my research.
Critical Reflection on Conceptual Ideas and References
Reflecting critically, The Museum of Perpetual Existence demonstrates my ability to analyze artworks using theoretical tools, such as Butler’s framework, to unpack how cyanotype and photography convey perpetual identity. The conceptual core—transgender as timeless yet evolving—relies on references to historical processes, yet I recognize limitations in accessibility; cyanotype’s chemical requirements may exclude broader participation, echoing critiques of elitism in fine art (Bishop, 2004).
My research interests in queer curatorial practices are evident, engaging with contemporary strategies like those in “queer curating” that prioritize fluidity over fixity (Getsy, 2015). This reflection strengthens my practice by situating it socially, though a more extensive evaluation of audience reception could enhance future iterations. Overall, the project innovates museum conventions, fostering creativity through a blend of personal narrative and artistic technique.
Conclusion
In summary, The Museum of Perpetual Existence articulates curatorial curiosities around transgender identity as a perpetual performance, inspired by artists like Whittington, Lillie, Phonsa, and Fuller, whose photographic and cyanotype techniques shaped my medieval revival works. Situated within identity art lineages and historical contexts, the exhibition critically reflects theoretical ideas from Butler and others, engaging contemporary practices while acknowledging limitations.
The implications extend to empowering marginalized narratives in museums, encouraging innovative curating that traverses art and identity. This project not only meets the module’s aims but also contributes to broader discussions on queer visibility in fine art, potentially inspiring future studio practices that challenge institutional boundaries.
(Word count: 1528, including references)
References
- Bishop, C. (2004) Antagonism and Relational Aesthetics. October, 110, pp. 51-79.
- Bourriaud, N. (2002) Relational Aesthetics. Les Presses du réel.
- Butler, J. (1990) Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity. Routledge.
- Equality and Human Rights Commission. (2018) Transgender People in Britain. Equality and Human Rights Commission.
- Getsy, D. J. (2015) Abstract Bodies: Sixties Sculpture in the Expanded Field of Gender. Yale University Press.
- Mulvey, L. (1975) Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema. Screen, 16(3), pp. 6-18.
- O’Neill, P. (ed.) (2007) Curating Subjects. Open Editions.
- Schaaf, L. J. (1992) Sun Gardens: Victorian Photograms by Anna Atkins. Aperture.
