pass some water through the hole and then you’ll see: modes of queer interconnectivity and visibility in practices of the fluid queer body Kieran Bryant Thesis in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Fine Arts UNSW Art and Design August 2018 Thesis/Dissertation Sheet ! Surname/Family Name : BRYANT Given Name/s : KIERAN JAMES Abbreviation for degree as give in the University MFA calendar : Faculty : ART & DESIGN School : SCHOOL OF ART pass some water through the hole and then you'll see: modes of queer Thesis Title : interconnectivity and visibility in practices of the fluid queer body Abstract 350 words maximum: (PLEASE TYPE) This practice-led research project examines how water, through its relationship with holes and orifices, can be a conduit of shame and regret in queered visibility and corresponding queer body dynamics. By exploring the interplay between situated wateriness and liquid autobiographical narrative, this project attempts to locate holes in and suggest alternatives to dominant viewpoints concerning queer fluidity, visibility and the body in contemporary arts and culture. It focuses on interpretations of constructed urban waterways as conductive queer sites that hold particular emotions as codes to a narrative of visibility. Further it defines the hole as an escape or portal within the queer body, and seeks to understand how it exists as a site to connect the differing aspects of a fluid body experience. This project will engage with theoretical frameworks of Astrida Neimanis, Sara Ahmed, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Jack Halberstam, Jacques Lacan, Renu Bora, and Michel Foucault; and the artistic practices of Paul Meheke, Kilian Rüthemann, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Mikala Dwyer, and Derek Jarman. The creative outcomes will manifest in a new body of work that combines video installation, text-based sculpture and performance to explore the stagings of water and the personal in a queer bodied experience. Declaration relating to disposition of project thesis/dissertation I hereby grant to the University of New South Wales or its agents the right to archive and to make available my thesis or dissertation in whole or in part in the University libraries in all forms of media, now or here after known, subject to the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968. I retain all property rights, such as patent rights. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis or dissertation. I also authorise University Microfilms to use the 350 word abstract of my thesis in Dissertation Abstracts International (this is applicable to doctoral theses only). ……………………………………………………… …………………………………….. ……….……………………...…….…24.08.2018 …… ……………… Date Signature Witness Signature The University recognises that there may be exceptional circumstances requiring restrictions on copying or conditions on use. Requests for restriction for a period of up to 2 years must be made in writing. Requests for a longer period of restriction may be considered in exceptional circumstances and require the approval of the Dean of Graduate Research. FOR OFFICE USE Date of completion of requirements for ONLY Award: COPYRIGHT STATEMENT ‘I hereby grant the University of New South Wales or its agents the right to archive and to make available my thesis or dissertation in whole or part in the University libraries in all forms of media, now or here after known, subject to the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968. I retain all proprietary rights, such as patent rights. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis or dissertation. I also authorise University Microfilms to use the 350 word abstract of my thesis in Dissertation Abstract International (this is applicable to doctoral theses only). I have either used no substantial portions of copyright material in my thesis or I have obtained permission to use copyright material; where permission has not been granted I have applied/will apply for a partial restriction of the digital copy of my thesis or dissertation.' Signed ……………………………………………........................... Date ……………………………………………..........13/12/2018 ................. AUTHENTICITY STATEMENT ‘I certify that the Library deposit digital copy is a direct equivalent of the final officially approved version of my thesis. No emendation of content has occurred and if there are any minor variations in formatting, they are the result of the conversion to digital format.’ Signed ……………………………………………........................... Date ……………………………………………..........13/12/2018 ................. ORIGINALITY STATEMENT ‘I hereby declare that this submission is my own work and to the best of my knowledge it contains no materials previously published or written by another person, or substantial proportions of material which have been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma at UNSW or any other educational institution, except where due acknowledgement is made in the thesis. Any contribution made to the research by others, with whom I have worked at UNSW or elsewhere, is explicitly acknowledged in the thesis. I also declare that the intellectual content of this thesis is the product of my own work, except to the extent that assistance from others in the project's design and conception or in style, presentation and linguistic expression is acknowledged.’ Signed …………………………………………….............. Date …………24/08/2018………………………………….............. i INCLUSION OF PUBLICATIONS STATEMENT UNSW is supportive of candidates publishing their research results during their candidature as detailed in the UNSW Thesis Examination Procedure. Publications can be used in their thesis in lieu of a Chapter if: • The student contributed greater than 50% of the content in the publication and is the “primary author”, ie. the student was responsible primarily for the planning, execution and preparation of the work for publication • The student has approval to include the publication in their thesis in lieu of a Chapter from their supervisor and Postgraduate Coordinator. • The publication is not subject to any obligations or contractual agreements with a third party that would constrain its inclusion in the thesis Please indicate whether this thesis contains published material or not. This thesis contains no publications, either published or submitted for ☐x publication (if this box is checked, you may delete all the material on page 2) Some of the work described in this thesis has been published and it has been documented in the relevant Chapters with acknowledgement (if this box is ☐ checked, you may delete all the material on page 2) This thesis has publications (either published or submitted for publication) ☐ incorporated into it in lieu of a chapter and the details are presented below CANDIDATE’S DECLARATION I declare that: • I have complied with the Thesis Examination Procedure • where I have used a publication in lieu of a Chapter, the listed publication(s) below meet(s) the requirements to be included in the thesis. Name Signature Date (dd/mm/yy) Kieran Bryant 24/08/2018 Postgraduate Coordinator’s Declaration (to be filled in where publications are used in lieu of Chapters) I declare that: • the information below is accurate • where listed publication(s) have been used in lieu of Chapter(s), their use complies with the Thesis Examination Procedure • the minimum requirements for the format of the thesis have been met. PGC’s Name PGC’s Signature Date (dd/mm/yy) !i i Table of Contents Originality Statement i Inclusion of Publications Statement ii Image List/Video Links iii Acknowledgements vi Introduction 1 narrative a) 5 goggles fog when you dive underwater. the fog of everything. you’ve been in the fog for too long Chapter 1 10 grappling on the precipice of the squirt and the stream: narratives of queer visibility in artificial waterways 1.1 10 hold your breath and flow through the gap 1.2 17 rush through my watery hole narrative b) 25 you escaped, but did you? the residue coats your back. your legs. your head. your hole 1.3 32 heavy water narrative c) 37 crying and not knowing why. knowing exactly why and continuing to cry Chapter 2 46 hole as sticky portal: connective modes of a fluid body experience 2.1 46 this is all kinds of shit narrative d) 51 telling yourself gets you halfway there. helping hands do the rest 2.2 57 one foot stuck in the hole and you start to know narrative e) 66 the water helps to float. floating in their reflection Conclusion 70 the other conclusion 71 Bibliography / References 73 Image List figure 1 12 Kieran Bryant, so you want us to get back in the water, do you? (video still), 2017, single-channel video, colour, sound, 00:09:05 loop. figure 2 14 Kieran Bryant, wide and i could sink. and i sink, deeper. warm, and i shiver (video still), 2017, single-channel video, colour, sound, 00:08:38 loop. figure 3 15 Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Untitled 1992-95, (install view), 2007, marble, water, 24 x 12 feet or 48 x 24 feet, Glenstone Museum, MD, United States, http://www.glenstone.org/art/outdoor-sculpture/, (accessed 20.07.18). figure 4 18 Kieran Bryant, how do you think this is the deepest hole in the water? (video still), 2017, single-channel video, colour, sound, 00:08:58 loop. figure 5 20 Kilian Rüthemann, Untitled (Valentine), (install view), 2011, steel, plywood, bitumen sheeting, water pumping system, 1200 x 980 x 190 cm, water jet: 600 cm, Kunstverein Harburger Bahnhof, Hamburg, Germany, http://ruethemann.net/-download/Kilian_Ruethemann_e_web.pdf figure, (accessed 05.06.17) figure 6 23 Kieran Bryant, this is that hose (install view), 2017-18, vinyl, particle board, rubber hose, water, stools, dimensions variable, Verge Gallery, Sydney, Australia. figure 7 23 Kieran Bryant, this is that hose (install view), 2017, vinyl, rubber hose, water, video projection, ‘grappling on the precipice of the squirt and the stream’, Cité Internationale des arts Paris.