Bradley Wester

Bradley Wester DISCOrd #1: Zip Tied at Farm Projects, Wellfleet MA, September 2–14, 2021

Much of my work for the past two decades is made of unlikely, non-art materials—everyday items, ephemera, or, at the very least, cheap, colorful, shiny craft materials not considered the makings of so-call ‘high art.’ One such cheap material is brightly colored nylon zip ties, for which I have also discovered stainless steel zip ties.

This work marks the beginning of a new body of work I am calling DISCOrd:

Zip ties, or cable ties, have come to be associated with restraint and incarceration (handcuffs). The nightmare image of one of the January 6, 2021 Capital insurrectionist traitors carrying a bundle of stolen zip tie cuffs into our hallowed Senate Chamber sent shivers. In this moment of national discord, the new zip tie pieces are my joyous remedy. The DISCOrd work, which also included new ‘disco-light’ paintings, continues to celebrate queer shine’s ability to turn hate and oppression into utopian futurity, as it celebrates queer aesthetic’s refusal to submit.

Written by Bradley Wester at 3:51 pm under Projects