LGBT art – THE ETHEL MERMAIDS – Camp, Queer, Kitsch, Culture, darlings

We’ve long loved the art of Jason Mecier. Made from found objects including pills, candy, foodstuffs, and trash, his work puts him at the forefront of the queer celebrity portrait movement. I’ve not actually seen anyone else recognizing this as a movement but I tell you it is. Along with Jason, Wayne Hollowell, Rocky Helminski, Kev Clarke, Sina Sparrow, Wayne Moraghan, Mari Kasurinen – and, ehem, me – are all working with stars/celebrities as our subject, most if not all of us are queer. It’s a movement, darlings.

Jason’s had commissions from the stars themselves and used their own trash in his work. He’s also produced pieces where the medium was appropriate to the subject such as his seminal Kevin Bacon made out of bacon.

Jason Mecier’s latest exhibition is in one of Ethel’s favourite art mediums: marvel, darlings, at The Real Housewives of Macaroni.

Even the goddamn FRAMES are made out of noodles!

Jason has portrayed some of our fave hysterical, surgeried ladies in pasta and they look good enough to eat. Plus, his exhibition coincides with National Noodle Day (6 Oct) and National Pasta Day (17 Oct). What a way to celebrate.

So, if you’re San Francisco way, get yourselves down to Dog Eared Books Castro from 13^th October through December. Now… Ethel’s got to go and get herself a big old plate of mac and cheese…

Real Housewives of Macaroni

New portraits by Jason Mecier

October – December 2016

Artist Reception Thursday Oct 13, 7- 9pm

Dog Eared Books Castro

489 Castro St.

San Francisco, CA 94114

Open Every Day 10am – 10pm

415-658-7920

When I was a baby feminist, baby queer doing A level Theatre Studies back in the late 80s, I devoured anything I could find on feminist and gay theatre. There’d been a lot happening in the previous two decades and a lot going on (just out of reach of my geographic restrictions) at the time. It was exciting; it was mind-blowing; it was inspirational. I’d always wanted to be an actress but up to that point my ambition was to be on Dynasty. When I read about political theatre, my thespian world made a very different sort of perfect sense.

It was through my insatiable research into feminist/gay theatre that I first heard of Split Britches. To be honest, I pretty much fell in love with Lois Weaver and Peggy Shaw the more I read. I’ve always liked my art and activism to be as full of F.U.N. as it can be and Split Britches were taking the complexities and controversies of gender and sexuality politics and making them accessible to a broad audience. La SWOON, darlings.

In recent years Lois Weaver has been teaching at Queen Mary University, crowd sourcing for a book on her life’s work and living her alter-ego, the most GLORIOUSLY named Tammy WhyNot? I keep hearing of these endevours and my love just grows and grows and grows…

When I found out that Split Britches are to be performing a Retro(per)spective of their decades worth of fabulous work as part of the SACRED festival, well darlings, I just plotzed. For ONE NIGHT ONLY we get to experience these incredible, essential and marvellous performers at The Chelsea Theatre, London.

Astonishingly, there are still a few tickets available. Snaffle them while you CAN, honies! This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to see something very, very special.

By Corinna ‘Mermaid’ Tomrley

Get your tickets here for Split Britches at the SACRED festival, Chelsea Theatre