Naughty Crosses employs Camp’s exaggerated aesthetic to probe the night of Jesus Christ’s Memorial Passover. A vibrant arrangement of wax casts, flowers, and erotic carvings clash with a sweet scattering of petite crosses. In the work, material frivolity and humour are used to elaborate on Azcune’s contemporary religious and queer experience. These considerations are informed by Susan Sontag’s Camp, the reduction of the cross to kitsch gaming symbol and the reality of living as a queer man in exile from the Jehovah’s Witness faith.
You are welcome to attend.
Raised as a Jehovah’s Witness, Jordan Azcune’s art practice is influenced by biblical theology and filtered by personal experience. He experiments with form, material, and process to celebrate imperfection and camp gestures. Jordan is currently investigating the idea of offering and memorial through materials of bee’s wax, glass and gold. Azcune has exhibited nationally across Australia and is a current finalist in the 66th Blake Prize for art considering spirituality. In 2020 he was awarded Brisbane Lord Mayors Young and Emerging Artist Fellowship. He was recipient of Toowoomba Emerging Art Prize 2018, People’s Choice Prize of the 2019 National Emerging Churchie Art Award and has successfully delivered projects supported by Arts Queensland, The Australia Council for the Arts and Regional Arts Development Fund. He is the youngest member of Sogetsu Ikebana Brisbane and has conducted research residencies in Australia, United States of America, and when safe to do so will in India.
Essay text by Anastasia Booth.
This is a COVID-Safe event. We please ask that if you have recently been in a hotspot or developed any new illnesses that you do not attend. We will provide you with hand sanitiser, we also ask that you please sign in to the QR code provided.
This project is supported by the Queensland Government through Arts Queensland.
