tender / queer
tender / queer is an Online Invitational Exhibition celebrating Pride Month through ceramics.
The article, titled ‘From Latent To Blatant’, outlines Suttie’s tense relationship with his mother, father, two brothers and two sisters, who often expressed distaste for his love of dressing up. Yet, few have explicitly linked his studio practice with his identity, sexuality and activism.
“I discovered vessels that were alive, appealing, moving, imaginative, witty, revealing pleasure in the making”
- Angus Suttie
Suttie’s ceramics mark a deliberate attempt not to conform to conventions.
each piece is thrown, stamped and glazed by hand, created to integrate into the lives of queer and trans folks as a quiet act of protest and healing.
why i do it:
my work is a protest. Yet, the then-prime minister Margaret Thatcher refuted the legitimacy of homosexual relationships, calling them ‘a pretend family relationship’, and opposed the idea of HIV/AIDS awareness.
Indents of nimble fingers and thumbs also remain in its surface. He began working with traditional domestic forms such as teaspoons and teapots, but his pieces quickly gained attention for their quirky nature. His works are about self-expression, about playing with and taking ownership of visual forms, and about increasing visibility of marginalised subcultures and people – albeit in coded ways.
Against a backdrop of death, rising homophobia, state oppression, and even an attempted suicide, it is remarkable that during this period Suttie stayed true to his mantra of celebrating the richness of life.
Through creating spaces, depicting our queer lives, building connections, and living out and proud lives, they show that even our softest work has a core of incredible strength” Dustin Yager
Guest Curator Dustin Yager has been working with clay for more than a dozen years, carefully developing expertise in working with porcelain on the pottery wheel.
These two aspects of Suttie’s identity – that of potter and activist – cannot easily be separated.
Born in 1946 and raised in Tealing, a small village in eastern Scotland, Suttie’s early life was sadly characteristic of the experiences of so many young queer people.
‘I started by wanting to make pots which were a reaction against the white, factory-produced earthenware available in every high street… I discovered vessels that were alive, appealing, moving, imaginative, witty, revealing pleasure in the making’, an article by Christopher Andreae records him saying.
Rejecting mass-produced forms, Suttie’s ceramics were largely hand built, giving them their signature raw, organic quality.
Many critics have associated Suttie’s abstract and geometric twists on tableware to his interests in pre-Columbian architecture and pottery. full stop. The work seen here includes both sculptural and functional ceramics, with a range of making processes that speaks to the versatility of clay to act as a conduit for the artist's voice.
Dustin has exhibited his work across the country and internationally, and given presentations about his practice at the Walker Art Center, the National Council for Education in the Ceramic Arts (NCECA) and Pecha Kucha Chicago. It is notably much more muted in colour than his earlier works.
Many works are provocative, phallic, and exist somewhere in between functional object and sculpture, such as Spoon (1984).