Kudzu Bodies: The Intersection Between Kudzu and Queerness
Exhibition dates: April 11 - 18, 2024
Opening reception: Thursday, April 11th, 6:00 - 8:00 p.m.
The Classroom: Student #7, steel rod, paint, kudzu fibers, kudzu vines, 2024
Do This In Memory of Me, black walnut, kudzu vines, steel rod, lamp hardware, 2023
Held and Confined: The Duality of Being Queer, processed kudzu fibers, inkjet print, 2023 - 2024
Artist Statement
Kudzu is an infamous so- called invasive species throughout the American South that can
be seen draping over trees on roadsides or blanketing entire hillsides with its ever winding and
complex vine networks. Captivated by its remarkable resilience, its ability to transform a
landscape, and its versatility, kudzu became the metaphor for which I explored the expression of
my queer identity. By using kudzu as a symbol for queerness, this body of work presents the
parallel treatment of queer people and invasive species in this country.
Similar to kudzu, queerness is viewed as invasive and unnatural by political and religious
groups. The term “queer” is not confined to either sexuality or gender, but rather is inclusive of
all identities that do not follow cisgender heteronormativity. Queerness is not just a term to
describe both sexuality and gender, but also to describe a praxis. As kudzu is sprayed with
herbicides and the attempt to eradicate it from American landscapes continues, the attempt to
eradicate queerness persists. No matter the treatment, kudzu plants and queer folks are both
remarkably resilient, and grow beyond society’s capacity to maintain them.
I present the many versions of the plant by using both the whole vines and the processed
fibers so that it, like queerness, is not viewed in a confined form. This body of work includes
many forms of kudzu weavings that showcase the multitude of queerness. Whether the kudzu
weavings are invading the rigid steel forms representative of spaces that felt and still feel unsafe
to be queer in, or cascading in a network of fishnets that are worn on my body, I want my work
to take up space the way kudzu does and the way queerness should.