ABSTRACT
I define myself as an ‘artist who is gay’ as I feel the two aspects of the definition are inextricably linked; I am a gay man, proud of the culture I have inherited and I am an artist, whose sexuality informs and motivates my work. Despite this, my sexuality is not my only concern. Therefore I prefer to be called ‘an artist who is gay’ rather than a ‘gay artist’, since the latter implies ‘Gay artist’, a categorization that suggests my work is only for the eyes of gay people and invites comparison with other gay artists, whose concerns are different from mine. I am very aware of the ghettoization of the gay and lesbian visual arts: labels only help to reduce the audience the work can reach. If, through my work, I am to be a representative of homosexuality, I want it to reach people of all sexual persuasions. This does not mean I wish to be a spokesperson for gay people; my work expresses my thoughts and feelings, however complicated and confused, as an individual gay man among many. Just as my work is a reaction to, and comment on, the work of many straight artists, I would hope it provokes a dialogue with others regardless of sexuality.
