Do You See Us?
Gaebrielle McIntosh
As children, we learn that we never occupy just one, but all, of our identities. Aa a queer person of color, this task becomes much more challenging being that you not only possess two minority identities but sometimes three depending on your gender. Often, we feel silenced by those around us and pressured to suppress certain aspects of our identities which can lead to confusion and a state of dysphoria.
Do You See Me? showcases a personal yet collective journey regarding queerness. Located in the “House of Queers” Museum, Do You See Me? acts as an unorthodox book in which the users are presented with an abundance of queer black faces placed in frames, printed from linoleum cuts. The faces are printed on three different colored papers: dark brown, light blue and orange. These colors represent silencing, voices, and liberation; the three major themes of the project.
As the viewers walk through the museum, they are constantly hearing the thoughts and voices of the faces they are viewing through built in wall speakers. Sometimes they will hear individual thoughts and sometimes they will hear the voices collectively speaking and thinking simultaneously. These voices consist mainly of the struggles of being a queer person of color. The exhibit takes up the entire third floor of the museum and is designed for users to walk in circles, submerging the audience in faces, thoughts and voices. Do You See Me? serves to create a sense of community for queer people of color as well as evoke a level of empathy and understanding from people who do not identify as queer so that they can play a role in creating a safer and more supportive environment for them.