Talk with Tracey

Contrasting my discussion with Pete, Tracey suggested I avoid making an angry project as it is something the whole world has seen before. What would make it different to every other piece expressing anger at the hatred? She suggested I look into celebrating gay pride. This left me a little confused about where to go as Pete contradicted this but I felt that what Tracey was suggesting was far closer to what I was trying to convey in the work I had already created, it was just a case of making it more personal, of conveying a personal message.
After seeing my pride rainbow made of shattered pieces of teacup, Tracey suggested I look into other object I could use, perhaps gender specific objects? This got me thinking about how I could pair up gender specific objects to imply same sex relationships. I began thinking about which objects I could use - perhaps tampons? Tools? Certain shoe types? Make up? There was always the risk that people could interpret this as gender stereotyping but what if I didn't specify the gender? Leave it up to the viewer? They could decide if this were implying a couple who defied gender norms or just plain homosexuality. Any insulting gender stereotypes assumed would then come down to the viewer's own prejudices and assumptions.
Tracey also suggested I look into the Stonewall Riots, having watched Stonewall the night before I agreed this was a good idea as it revealed to me that Stonewall was the origin of gay pride marches which is an important relation to my gay pride project.
A concern I brought up with Tracey was that I was worried all of my work was beginning to look the same due to the pride flag yet I could not remove it as it was a vital part of portraying my gay pride in a way that was nationally recognisable. Tracey suggested I look into other artists who manipulate flags and colours. She suggested Jaspers Johns who manipulated the American flag in a lot of his art, this reminded me of the small piece I had read on him in one of the articles in my sketchbook and so I decided it would definitely be important to do a research page on him.