Currently on display at Tate Britain, ‘Queer British Art 1861-1967’ is an important exhibition concerned with the relationship between sexuality and art. The title struck me first; queer has been used as a derogatory term since the 1800s. However, the Tate argue that the use of this broad term attempts to ‘avoid imposing more specific identity labels’ (Tate website).
Certainly, this exhibition encourages interesting conversations concerning identity.
With the title of the exhibition being so broad, the exhibition is open to the inclusion of various art media. From paintings to the door of Oscar Wilde’s prison cell, these different materials and representations all hark back to the theme of sexual identity.
The exhibition is organized into 8 sections. It starts with work from 1861, when the death penalty for sodomy was abolished, and ends with pieces from 1967, when the partial decriminalization of homosexuality was enforced. The use of chronology interlinks key themes, which creates an overarching narrative. Despite this, each section is successfully compartmentalized and includes the exploration of the relationship between public and private, and queer representation in theatre and the lives of intellectuals. In the first room one is met by the work by Simeon Solomon, Frederic Leighton and Evelyn de Mortei. The watercolour by Solomon, entitled Sappho and Erinna in the Garden at Mytilene (1864) is the main attraction in the first room. Despite the room’s title ‘Coded Desires’, Solomon himself was unable to hide his own sexual preferences and was eventually arrested for homosexual offences, so was shunned from creating art on this subject matter. The second room of the exhibition focuses on another man who was persecuted for his sexual preferences. One is greeted by an imposing 6ft portrait of an elegantly presented Oscar Wilde, which is juxtaposed by the door of his prison cell in Reading where he was a captive on the charge of gross indecency.
Through my visit to this exhibition, I discovered that queer perspectives could find public expression on the stage and that the Bloomsbury group - a group of influential artists, writers and intellectuals - openly accepted same-sex relationships, including that of Dora Carrington and Lythion Stratchy.
One the pieces that really stuck with me was Soldiers at Rye by Edward Burra (1941). It is considered to have homoerotic undertones due to the accentuation of the soldiers’ behinds and the emphasis drawn to them. This work was especially visually striking; the dark tones were captivating and the incorporation of the masks was fascinating. It was intriguing to discover how all the different works were related to the exhibition’s title when the subject matters were so diverse. A great example of this was a portrait of a constable; without the viewer’s awareness of his male lover, one might not have understood its relation to the exhibition. It demonstrates how easy it is for queer narratives to be disguised beneath seemingly innocuous works.
Soldiers at Rye - Edward Burra
In the final section, one can find the narratorial conclusion to the exhibition’s tale, with more modern work by Hockney and Bacon. This exhibition will help people to uncover previously hidden queer narratives, and hopefully encourage further conversation around this theme. At a time when people are marching for Pride, it seems particularly relevant to study the multifaceted significance of sexuality in relation to art.
'Queer British Art 1861-1967' is on display at Tate Britain until October 1st
More information available at - http://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-britain/exhibition/queer-british-art-1861-1967
Tomi Von Bredow