“I make objects out of metal that express elusive feelings of alienation tied to my Black, American, and queer identities. Influenced by West African design, I integrate and reinterpret traditional designs to create my own visual language that reflects my experience living in the diaspora. My work explores themes of queerness, belonging, kinship, dis/connection, and cultural (il)legibility at the intersections of race, gender, and sexuality. Black and queer futurity are cornerstones of my design practice as I pull from ancestral and contemporary influences to both reclaim my cultural lineage and imagine new possibilities for self-definition and collective liberation.”
Naomi Johnson
(they/she)
Samonte Cruz
they/them
Juror’s Choice
Our jurors for [queerphoria] vol. 5: flourish each chose an artist’s work that they wanted to highlight from the exhibition.
“My juror’s choice is Samonte Cruz’s piece, ‘Eternal Safe Space: Trans-cestors’ Funerary Mask’; an exceptional work for me in the show, because of how much it speaks to the absence of serenity that many trans/gender non-conforming people face in this current time; navigating the past, present and future traumas of existing in a world that systemically inflicts structural violence on our bodies in both life and death. By connecting with their cultural and lived experiences as a trans, Filipinx, disabled person, Samonte’s piece envisions a safe space beyond this realm; to access a sense of inner peace by claiming space in the present to protect and honor the dead, while creating a powerful connection to the legacies of their queer and trans Filipinx ancestors.
This 3-piece 22k gold funerary mask is a somber and beautiful testament to the adorned serenity that is rooted in diasporic queer/trans embodiment, and how to draw upon its power and protection in the face of violent colonial erasure. As this exhibition closes just before Trans Day of Remembrance, Samonte dedicated this piece to honor the 336 reported trans/gender non-conforming people that became ancestors too soon, losing their lives to anti-trans violence in 2023. In honoring their ancestral living legacies in the present moment, Samonte’s work uses the power of adornment to center the sacredness of queer/trans bodies, and create a wearable safe space that transcends beyond our time.”
-Danica
