QUINLAN, Hannah & HASTINGS, Rosie; HANHARDT, Christina B.
Tulips

In Tulips, artist duo Hannah Quinlan & Rosie Hastings, alongside scholar Christina B. Hanhardt map a terrain where they explore gestures of authority and obedience in the public space within the urban context of gentrification and policing against marginalized queer communities.

Hanhardt’s essay, “Broken Windows at Blue’s: A Queer History of Gentrification and Policing,” recounts the history of NY as one center of the American queer movement, spanning from the incisive events of the lates 1960s around the Stonewall Inn to the gentrification and violent repression of the gay, lesbian, and trans communities were equally as affected by internal power structures as other heteronormative systems in capitalist society.

The second part of the book gathers reproductions of Quinlan & Hastings’ fresco paintings Tulips, exhibited at Tate Britain in 2022: “depicting imagined street scenes inspired by the fresco cycle in the Brancacci Chapel in Florence, as well as archival street photography, the new work explores power dynamics, social class, and authority in public spaces. … Quinlan & Hastings’ compositions are instead constructed from found photography and collage, depicting scenes of exchange, conflict and camaraderie in public spaces like street corners, parks or gardens. Multiple sections of society such as drag queens, suited men, police officers and sex workers are juxtaposed together, to explore power in the urban environment.”

Published by Distanz, 2023
Design by Manuel Tayarani
Conversations / Queer Culture / Essays / Urban Studies