Hannah Toussaint is a metalsmith and craft artist based in Texas. She studied fine arts through costume design for theatre as an undergraduate and has recently completed a year-long post-baccalaureate program in Metalsmithing and Jewelry at the University of North Texas. Hannah was a recipient of the Educational Endowment Scholarship in 2022 awarded by the Society of North American Goldsmiths.
Hannah Reynoso Toussaint
she/her
"My work contrasts the mundanity and routine of daily life with spontaneity, playfulness, and queerness. The adornments I create are sometimes amorphous in shape, subtracting the structure that confines contemporary society. Fiber is a material I often use in my work, representing comfort and familiarity. My practice also serves as a therapy allowing me to experience play and exploration, something I am not naturally inclined to do."
“For me, Queerphoria is less of a personal emotion and more of a collective feeling. My relationship to queerphoria is mostly related to my relationships with my "chosen family", those of us who were raised experiencing 'otherness' because of our queerness.
Queerphoria is also an act of resistance and reclamation. To love ourselves and feel joy is resistance from so many oppressive societal norms and expectations.”
What does [queerphoria] mean to you? This can be something felt, experienced, or made.
What does being queer mean to you in relation to your material choices? Is it something you consider?
Saccharine Dreams Detail, Brass, copper, steel, luffa gourd skeleton, auto paint, cotton thread, 12" x 12", 2022
“Being queer plays a big, somewhat subconscious, part of my material choice. I often reclaim or reuse materials that I find or manipulate in some way to make them work with my piece. This relates to society historically viewing queers as "cast offs", and forcing us to find and make our own queer joy.”
“I think both can be true! Queer makers inherently project their identity onto their work, making it queer, but don't neccesarily have to include obvious queer culture references for the subject matter to be queer in nature. Perhaps intention also plays a role in deciding the "queerness" of a piece, determined by the intentions of the maker.”
Is the work queer because the maker is queer, or is it queer because the subject matter is queer?
Saccharine Dreams, Brass, copper, steel, luffa gourd skeleton, auto paint, and cotton thread, 12" x 12", 2022
“My work is intended to be worn and in doing so, I hope the viewer or wearer is able to interact with the tactile qualities to experience a physcial manifestation of queerness.”
“Identifying as a queer person plays a big role in my studio practice. Just generally experiencing and living through my queerness has allowed me to try new processes or materials and not be afraid, regardless of the outcome.”
What role does your studio practice play in your identity- if at all?
When creating your work, do you consider the relationship your object has with the viewer?
Pandemonium, Silver, enamel on copper, horsehair, 4" x 3", 2022
“My favorite tool in the studio is a pair of dividers!”