(DE)COMPOSING
one day i will die.
on that day the land will envelop me.
and they will repeat back
all the ways they have and will hold me
(DE)COMPOSING marks MacKenzie’s first solo exhibition and shares work that explores the relationship between her body and place as they exist within the complex histories and heritage that they both carry. Using textiles, paper making and performance combined with photo-documentation by Johnny C. Y. Lam, MacKenzie questions and examines how colonization and patriarchy have severed and stigmatized Queer-Femme identity from the land while actively creating space for unmasked Queer expression and joy. Using the Ghillie-Suit, a traditional Scottish camouflage-garment that is most commonly seen through militaristic uses, MacKenzie creates an anti-camo suit that dances along the coast of Bonavista, their current place of residence. (DE)COMPOSING refers to both the breakdown of material after death, as well as the ways we “compose” ourselves in our everyday lives. While their work appears monstrous and at times, grotesque, this exhibition is an amalgamation of Queer-Femme expression that draws attention to what is perceived to be threatening, but in temporal simultaneity is both powerful and gentle, strong and soft.
