January 12th – February 7th, 2022
New in the Prairie Crocus, DeVery Bess with Dragging Out Mediacrity.
Rather than being held as a monolith of experience DeVery Bess (He/Him/They/Them), producer, Comedian, Disk Jockey, and Drag Artist is exploring mediocrity as a form of resistance to cis het and racist ideas of exceptionalism. To exist in the space of white supremacist colonial ideas of “best” is exhausting and requires unrealistic amounts of work. Being “the best” or DeVery Bess, isn’t necessarily the best. Mediocrity leaves room for joy, is full of potential and allows for new and exciting things to happen. To gain comfort in mediocrity is adjustment in service of exhibiting the multiplicity of artistry, drag, being. Mediocrity leaves space for viewers to also see themselves, or acknowledge their own discomfort with mediocrity and by extension possible failure.
Check out the exhibition in the store front of Stride Gallery for the next month.
Documentation by Han Sungpil.
