Being Gay and Masculinity Is Something I've had To Try and Balance (Tyler), 2016
2016
Static & full motion digital billboards
3 of 4 of
All Identity Is Constructed
Static: 480 x 720px, 576 x 288px, 800 x 400px, 1080 x 1920px, 1200 x 336px, 1392 x 366px, jpeg, RGB colour
Full motion: 576 x 144px, 728 x 392px, 768 x 1366px, 1080 x 1920px, 1920 x 1080px, 2296 x 448px, mp4 video colour, sound (web only)
0:10
July-August 2016
UK-wide
The series
All Identity Is Constructed
explores the artist's position that everyone's identity is an invention, no matter who you are or where you start out.
Being Gay and Masculinity Is Something I've had To Try and Balance (Tyler)
is also an examination of intersectionality as lived experience: Tyler is part of a loving and inclusive family and his godfather is gay so it was relatively easy for him to come out as a black gay man; where his identity became less straightforward was at the intersection of being a gay man and expressing masculinity.
It took a while for Tyler to find a ‘gay tribe’ where he felt he could be fully himself. In his own words,
Being Gay and Masculinity Is Something I've had To Try and Balance.
The complete text reads:
My mum's half Nigerian and half English. My Dad's from the Caribbean. Coming out my godfather was gay so I knew my parents were comfortable with people being gay. Being gay and masculinity is something I've had to try and balance. The thing I've struggled with most is finding a gay scene to fit in with rather than me actually being a gay man. I definitely do feel like a free person. Break down barriers. Don't be so afraid of people. All Identity Is Constructed.
