Shia Conlon
Blanket #1: Cruising
Sculpture/textile 100 x 148 cm
2023
Blankets are one of the very first items of our lives, offering safety, warmth, shelter and survival. For the LGBTQ+ community, the image of the blanket carries a more sombre significance – during the AIDs crisis thousands of blankets were hand-crafted by grieving friends and family to memorialise and honour their loved ones. Blankets became an enduring symbol of remembrance and resistance.
Shia Conlon’s "Blanket 1: Cruising" pays homage to this tradition by honouring trans activist Lou Sullivan, imagining a world through his knowledge, desire and drive. A world he himself might have envisioned, where trans bodies receive care and freedom, and are safe to cruise and excavate their desire in all its nuance.
Conlon’s photographs are woven together with archival material: letters, newspaper clippings, and writings from influential publications such as FTM Newsletter, Trans Fag Rag, and Sullivan’s own correspondance. This work is the first in a forthcoming series of blankets, engaging with queer history and our ongoing fight against erasure.