People are often told to live in the now and savour the moment. Yet, for a lot of us LGBTQ+ folk, the present can weigh heavy, often leaving us feeling unwelcome and longing for a better world, a brighter future.
 
‘Some will say that all we have are the pleasures of this moment, but we must never settle for that minimal transport; we must dream and enact new and better pleasures, other ways of being in the world, and ultimately new worlds’, writes Cuban-American academic José Esteban Muñoz in his book Cruising Queer Utopias. Part manifesto, part love-letter to the past and the future, Muñoz argued that the here and now were not enough, issuing an urgent call for the revivification of the queer political imagination. He was also of the opinion that aesthetics, particularly queer aesthetics ‘frequently contain blueprints and schemata of a forward-dawning futurity’.
 
Rachael House’s latest exhibition Fats Femmes Bisexuals certainly contains a map of the utopia that is queerness. Walls covered in House’s signature artichoke-leaf patterns, layered with ‘Welcome’ tile tableaus set the show’s radical tone.
 
‘Welcome Tank Topped Bum Boys’
 
‘Welcome Radical Faeries’
 
‘Welcome Macho Sluts’
 
These tongue in cheek rallying cries echo around the room, with a series of multi-tiered Genderqueer Deity sculptures carefully watching over you while you let the words sink in. There’s a spiritual atmosphere to the exhibition too, creating a safe environment for relaxing and recharging. This is what I’d imagine a refuge for activists involved in various campaigns throughout queer history would look like: a sort of anti-Bullingdon club, for those who aren’t born into privilege.
 
House has a long tradition of incorporating feminist and queer politics and resistant histories/herstories into her art, zines, and events. Her art practice is rooted in what came before and centred on reaching as many like-minded people as possible. She’s an expert at making us feel seen and with Fats Femmes Bisexuals she lifts us up in the now while guiding us towards a brighter future. - Davy Pittoors