Cruising hands
Over the last few months I’ve been working on a one-work study of a 1992 photograph by Phyllis Christopher, who currently has shows at BALTIC in Gateshead and Grand Union in Birmingham. I tried to think about all the aspects of the photograph (which follows below): the hand, the outline, the pair of glasses, the nails/knuckles, the question written out, all read through the various historical currents and struggles from the time of the photograph’s taking. You can find it as a PDF on the BALTIC’s website here.
There are two other contributions on the website too, one by Languid Hands (an conversation with AJAMU X) and one by Ariel Goldberg (a piece on On Our Backs magazine). Their publication coincides with the release of Dark Room: San Francisco Sex and Protest 1988–2003, a selection of Phyllis Christopher’s work published by Book Works, edited by Laura Guy and Lizzie Homersham and designed by Rosen Eveleigh.
It has been such a pleasure to think about Phyllis Christopher’s work. I hope to keep working on these thoughts and expand them somehow over the course of the year, so let me know if anything comes to mind if & when you read through. I might also record it as a voice memo, so let me know if that is also of interest ♡