The Smear the Queer t-shirt by Joel Swanson (2017 Black Cube Artist Fellow) is commissioned by Black Cube as part of its collection of limited-edition, artist-designed merch.
“Smear the Queer is a game that was played during recess when I was a kid. A group of boys would throw a ball in the air, and whoever caught it was labeled the “queer" and the rest of the boys would try to tackle him. This work is a repurposing of that degrading language that played a significant role in my childhood as I struggled to understand my sexuality. To create this work, I used an embossed label maker to “smear” and visually disrupt the reading and pronunciation of this phrase.” —Joel Swanson
To learn more about the artist, visit www.joelericswanson.com.
· 100% cotton
· Unisex
· Long-sleeve, Crew neck
· Water-based print, Black ink
· Edition of 50
The Smear the Queer t-shirt by Joel Swanson (2017 Black Cube Artist Fellow) is commissioned by Black Cube as part of its collection of limited-edition, artist-designed merch.
“Smear the Queer is a game that was played during recess when I was a kid. A group of boys would throw a ball in the air, and whoever caught it was labeled the “queer" and the rest of the boys would try to tackle him. This work is a repurposing of that degrading language that played a significant role in my childhood as I struggled to understand my sexuality. To create this work, I used an embossed label maker to “smear” and visually disrupt the reading and pronunciation of this phrase.” —Joel Swanson
To learn more about the artist, visit www.joelericswanson.com.
· 100% cotton
· Unisex
· Long-sleeve, Crew neck
· Water-based print, Black ink
· Edition of 50