S Sanchez
They/Them
Lubbock, TX, US
S. Sanchez is a gender non-conforming Chicano metalsmith and visual artist from Houston, TX. Sanchez’s body of work reflects on the relationship between adornment, power, and identifiers. They explore how specific iconography and placement of jewelry objects can signal messages of queerness.
“The practice of adornment predates written language and continues to exist and transform today. One day, the remnants of today will be buried and ancient, but the practice of adornment will persist. I create coded icons, objects of adornment, and unconventional septum ornaments to reflect existing as a Queer Trans Tejano in the here and now. I want my work to function as proof of existence within the contemporary climate, in hopes that being seen far into the future will be proof of Queer resilience, rebellion, and power.”
*Juror’s Choice
Our jurors for [queerphoria] vol. 5: flourish each chose an artist’s work that they wanted to highlight from the exhibition.
“Imagine 2,000 years from now, in a time when the people have returned to living with the land, S Sanchez’s Double €aguar Rattle is unearthed by our queer progeny after undergoing a process of chemical transformation for millennia. As they carefully brush away the soil and eye the piece with curiosity, as they look into €aguar’s eyes and a deep sense of safety washes over them.
S Sanchez’s piece is fundamentally about time: nonlinear, layered, and alive. Drawing from ancestral symbols while projecting forward, Double €aguar Rattle functions as evidence—proof of existence across eras. To make an artifact, as Sanchez has done, is not only to imagine the future, but to actively shape it. For queer and trans people of color, whose lives are so often rendered precarious or erased, this is a radical act.
The €aguar presents as a powerful representation of queerness and transness—protector, witness, and communicator across temporal boundaries. A noise maker, the rattle speaks in a time when queer voices are continually threatened with silence; its sound insists on presence. The jaguar, a symbol of strength and guardianship, holds space across past, present, and future, asserting: we have always been here, and we will always be here.
Sanchez’s work collapses time, reaching backward and forward simultaneously, pulling the viewer into a continuum where ancestry and futurity coexist.”
How does your work relate to the theme of flourish(ing)?
“The way I envision my works’ most ideal display is buried deep in the earth transformed by pressure and time. Each piece would be ancient, tarnished, worn, and wisened by the soil. This transformation through time is where I see the flourish in my work.
I know I will never see this change take place in my lifetime. Even so, I hope that now and far in the future my pieces can be understood as a reflection of Queer people who continued to flourish even under persecution."
"€aguar Adorned Pendant", Electroformed copper and spray paint, 2" x 1.25" x .75", 2025. 
How does your creative practice allow you to flourish (grow, thrive, blossom)?
“My creative practice allows me to flourish by giving me dedicated time for reflection and action. As I create, I am reflected, and my Queerness is immortalized in copper, silver, and brass. Regardless of administration or legislation, the stories and histories reflected through my work will long outlive me. This long-lasting existence in times of uncertainty and blatant fascism is what allows me to flourish without pause.”
"Cangrejito Septum Ornament", Electroformed copper and spray paint, silver, 2.5" x 3.5" x .5", 2025
As a queer+ artist, what would you like to see and/or what do you need in order to flourish during this time?
“As we all see headline after headline and watch the state of oppression, genocide, and fascism across the globe, we need to turn to community. Through reciprocity, community building, and organization, people can be heard. Right now, for me and so many others, change is what is needed to flourish.”
Anything else you would like to share about this work? This can be an important part of the process, sourcing materials, or research.
“The septum wielding jaguar is my recurring character €aguar. €aguar is a representation of queerness / transness and the associations that come with it. There is a clear lack of aggression in €aguar’s facial expression to counter the villainous and aggressively negative stigmas surrounding trans existence.”
"Double €aguar Rattle", Electroformed copper, brass, and jade, 7.5" x 2" x 1", 2025 
Photographs Courtesy of the Artist