PETER CLOUGH
@cloughabunga
Peter Clough is a queer artist, activist and curator based in Harlem NY. Using images of his own body, Clough questions the boundaries between inside and outside, subject and object. His work brings up important questions about the line between pornography and “art”.
In a recent piece Clough recorded himself giving a blowjob to his partner. The work was filmed on the same camera that shot Spider Man, using the highest production value. Clough then slowed this 10 minute act down to 2 hours and 9 minutes. He asks the viewer to decontextualize erotic acts and if a sexual act is done lovingly, should it still be considered obscene pornography? Furthermore what is at risk when making these intimate acts visible? And if sexual content is made for an art audience, is it no longer pornography or do current the labels of “art” and “pornography” even matter?
For the purposes of this show the point is mute. Clough is aware of Instagram’s policies, and does not post most of his artwork to the platform. Through self censoring with blurry images, Clough’s edits diminish the exact question of intimate visibility he’s asserting.
In a recent post, Clough highlighted a fellow artists, Patrick McNab’s, recent solo show. Clough chose a post that was purposefully tame and was immediately deleted. Clough appealed and the photograph was put back up 3 days later. At first this seems like a triumph! Instagram might be getting better. However the post was re-instated 3 days later, effectively burying it in Clough’s feed. Instagram is a platform based on immediacy. If something is removed from the feed for even a day, it’s engagement is shot and it will remain unseen, effectively shutting down an artist’s visibility.
IMAGE CREDIT: All Images Courtesy The Artist And Haul Gallery