Queerness is far too often assumed to be limited to and driven by traumatic and painful experiences; while we have suffered immensely throughout our history and individual lives, our suffering does not define us. We have come to expect and adapt to these circumstances, with pride and resilience. It is a queer tradition to take the narratives of oppression that are tied to our existence and rewrite them. Following this tradition and encouraged by an immense need for genuine care, the NSCAD Queer Collective presents A Soft Place: a collaborative community exhibition for Nocturne centered around moments of queer euphoria. Referenced through collected objects, clothing, notes, emails, text messages, and spoken word we aim to present our collective feelings of intense excitement and happiness as they come about in direct relationship to our queer identities.
The hurt we grow through isn’t intrinsically due to our queer identities but is because the heteronormative hegemony is not prepared to adapt, accept, challenge or engage outside of it’s comfort zone. Attempting to disrupt the queerness = trauma narrative, we have chosen to celebrate the tender and euphoric moments that are frequently hidden from view. A reminder that we have endured for centuries but, that because of our community, we have also loved, wept, created, and cared for just as long.
Queerness is powerful. It is the feeling of togetherness in a world that benefits from our destruction . And so within this exhibition we celebrate these moments that remind us we are loving and can be loved because we deserve that.
