Join the pop cult

Two queer English artists display their pop culture works


My guess is that most of the people I know, myself included, could sound off a dozen Mean Girls quotes verbatim before they could point out Uganda on a map.

In a reality seemingly dreamed up in a Warholian fantasy, pop culture has come to define us. For many queer people, especially, we first recognized or defined our desires and behaviours as they were acted out on the screen; from the ditzy, campy fun of impossible blondes to the bromances and male-only adventures of cinema, we experience and reimagine pop culture in our lives, and our lives through pop culture.

English artists Sina Sparrow and Kev Clarke will be displaying a number of the works around pop culture, titled Queer Camp Cult, at a London gallery all through June.

Sparrow, his work pictured above, a favourite artist of mine, has been creating diary comics and other pop-culture works on top of creating a handful of awesome comics. This includes a number of movie stills or moments turned into works of art.

Clark creates art around pop culture, including selling a number of his creations on his online store, The Face of Pop.

Even though they’ll be displaying their artwork at the Hackney Picturehouse in London, thanks to the magic of the internet, we Canucks can get our fix of queer pop culture. So fetch!

Michael Lyons is a queer-identified, chaotic neutral writer, activist, misanthrope, sapiosexual, and feline enthusiast. He is a columnist, blogger and regular contributor with Xtra and has contributed to Plenitude Magazine, KAPSULA Magazine, Crew Magazine, Memory Insufficient e-zine, The Ryersonian, Buddies Theatre blog, Toronto Is Awesome blog and Fab Magazine and more.

Keep Reading

Karla Sofía Gascón as Emilia Perez in Emilia Perez. Gascón wears black with colourful embroidery, has long hair, and a brown purse and delicate chain.

Trans cartel musical ‘Emilia Pérez’ takes maximalist aesthetic to the extreme

REVIEW: The film’s existence raises intriguing questions about appropriate subjects for the playful machinations of French auteurs
Dorothy Allison sits behind a microphone. She has long, light-coloured hair and wears glasses and a patterned button-up shirt.

5 things to know about Dorothy Allison

The lesbian feminist writer passed on Nov. 6

‘Solemates’ is a barefoot stroll through the history of our fetish for feet

Queer historian Adam Zmith’s newest book allows us to dip our toes into the past of a common, yet stigmatized, kink

‘Masquerade’ offers a queer take on indulgence and ennui 

Mike Fu’s novel is a coming of age mystery set between New York and Shanghai