“I use a research-based practice to examine personal and American history through a queer lens. I often fixate on forgotten or devastating events until I find visual clues hidden deep within them that feel particularly surreal or prophetic. I then use this source material like language; finding ways to manipulate meanings through specific interventions and arrangements. In recent work, I have been questioning the symbology of gay male culture, how it was born and reproduces itself without the ability to biologically reproduce.

 

“The creative process starts off fairly chaotic; I use trial and error with sculpture, performance, installation, and video, allowing the concept to drive my material choices. I know I am nearing the end of my process when the work begins to feel meditative and healing. In this way, I aim to unearth uncomfortable truths and transform them into allegories for a larger societal reckoning.

 

“Whether subversively performing in a replica of Reagan’s Oval Office, sewing bed sheets fitted over the bodies of queer companions, or miniaturizing the life-saving blast-holes from Pulse nightclub, my art traces and breaks through the edges of the established past. The American vision I present is dystopian and sublime, finding nuggets of humor and beauty within a continuum of political frustration and fear.”

 

For more information please visit https://davidwesleywhite.com/.

 

 

Free Sheeting (2019)

Video still

 

Liam (2019)

Bedsheet and thread

60 x 70 in.

 

Untitled (Pulse)I (2019)

Redwood Lattice Top Fence Panel, Behr Paint in Night Club (N500-7), cream-colored wool rescue blanket, taxidermy birds, LED recessed lights, ink on paper, extension cords, vintage male mannequin, leather harness, ForgeOne Advanced Ballistic Protection personal body armor vest, Husky vehicle tow strap, Sika Pro Select Fence, Post Backfill

Dimensions variable

 

Untitled (Pulse) (2019)

[detail]

 

MGB car hood

34 x 56 x 5 in.

 

Playdate (2020)

Video still

 

Oval Office ASMR (2020)

Gold frame, projected video, and ten thousand dollars stolen from the oval office

Dimensions variable

 

Gay Monopoly Tokens (2020)

Crayola Model Magic and oil paint

Approximately 8” each in diameter