Plantae, Fungi, Animalia: 
A Series of Primordial Spirits

2023

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Growing up, the few representations of queer people I saw were centered around cities. This implanted the false idea in my young brain that urban metropolises were the only spaces where queer people could exist. Additionally, this notion came with the idea that queerness was something new; something that came about with the advent of skyscrapers and automobiles. It is true that queer people often find safety in the larger communities found in big cities, but as I have grown older, I have realized how wrong these ideas are and how much they have held me back. Binaries and hierarchies are fabricated out of fear by small-minded people to control and suppress the unknown and are much newer constructions than queerness.

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This project recontextualizes the queer body as a series of primordial spirits. The three organisms specifically referenced are the mushroom, the orchid, and the moth. They represent three different kingdoms (queendoms) in scientific taxonomy: Fungi, Plantae, and Animalia and express the vastness of the queer experience. Queerness (although this freedom and fluidity may not have always been called this) is as deep-reaching as the fungal mycelium networks, as powerful as the constant toil of the tectonic plates, and as intricate as the dance of worker bees through the hive.

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-MATS

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Photos shot and edited by Jared Maldonado

@jaredma1do

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The garments MATS created mimic the organic forms of the beings they reference and transport the viewer to the mystical, earthly, and primordial. They created all the garments from scratch and utilized techniques like hand beading, airbrushing, felting wool, rhinestoneing, creating ruffles, and hand stitching. When all the wearables were finished, they put themselves in drag and captured documentation in a wilderness space.