Skip to Content
A CLEARING
about
a possible practice
shop
events
0
0
A CLEARING
about
a possible practice
shop
events
0
0
about
a possible practice
shop
events
bouchier.png
shop Bochier by Kelsey Halliday Johnson

Bochier by Kelsey Halliday Johnson

$250.00

Kelsey Halliday Johnson
Bochier, 2019
Sumi ink on archival pigment print
20” x 27”

About this piece and practice, Kelsey Halliday Johnson notes, “The fact that butch could root itself in butcher, that there is an act of aggression that has to be inserted in the gendered presentation of something is inherently alienating to me and immediately made me want to return to the butcher, to subvert it’s parental word in etymology entirely. Whether it’s gender fluidity in a variety of different fish species or Ursula K. Le Guin’s The Left Hand of Darkness, the etymology of a word like ‘butch’ disavows both the natural world and utopian futures we could have. Gender self-actualization has to be seen as a nonviolent path of giving abundance to the body, not slaughtering it. […] I’ve been playing with archival photographs of butcher shops, a historically masculine space and gendered profession (like so many). With ink and watercolor I’ve been kind of obliterating the bodies in them or rendering them neutral voids.”

Created in conversation with K-Ming Chang’s poem “Etymology of butch.”

This item is for local Maine pick up only. We will email you upon receipt of your order to confirm your location and coordinate pick up. If you are outside of Maine and interested in purchasing—or have any other questions regarding ordering—please reach out to us through our contact page.

Add To Cart

Bochier by Kelsey Halliday Johnson

$250.00

Kelsey Halliday Johnson
Bochier, 2019
Sumi ink on archival pigment print
20” x 27”

About this piece and practice, Kelsey Halliday Johnson notes, “The fact that butch could root itself in butcher, that there is an act of aggression that has to be inserted in the gendered presentation of something is inherently alienating to me and immediately made me want to return to the butcher, to subvert it’s parental word in etymology entirely. Whether it’s gender fluidity in a variety of different fish species or Ursula K. Le Guin’s The Left Hand of Darkness, the etymology of a word like ‘butch’ disavows both the natural world and utopian futures we could have. Gender self-actualization has to be seen as a nonviolent path of giving abundance to the body, not slaughtering it. […] I’ve been playing with archival photographs of butcher shops, a historically masculine space and gendered profession (like so many). With ink and watercolor I’ve been kind of obliterating the bodies in them or rendering them neutral voids.”

Created in conversation with K-Ming Chang’s poem “Etymology of butch.”

This item is for local Maine pick up only. We will email you upon receipt of your order to confirm your location and coordinate pick up. If you are outside of Maine and interested in purchasing—or have any other questions regarding ordering—please reach out to us through our contact page.

Add To Cart

Sign up with your email address to receive news and updates.

We respect your privacy.

Thank you!