Bradley Wester

DISCOrd #1: zip-tied

Zip ties, or cable ties, have come to be associated with restraint and incarceration—handcuffs. On January 6, 2021, during the nightmarish Capital Insurrection, one of the American traitors carried a bundle of stolen zip tie cuffs into our hallowed Senate Chamber. This sent shivers. In our moment of national discord, the new zip tie pieces are my joyous remedy. The industrial, glistening, stainless steel zip ties, discovered while shopping for the nylon ones, have also become a new and exciting medium.

Included in this collection are the new ‘Disco Light’ paintings. I call it “Magic Hour” when direct sunlight enters my studio and explodes off the myriad actual disco balls lying around or inserted into the DISCOurse pieces. In this dome of heaven, a thousand points of light envelop and illuminate my artwork. These spray-painted colorful canvases are compressed physical renderings of that experience. DISCOrd continues to celebrate a shiny and bright queer aesthetic, resilient, and refusing to submit. (Go to Statement for an in-depth description of work.)