Date of Award

Summer 8-4-2025

Level of Access Assigned by Author

Open-Access Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Fine Arts (MFA)

Department

Intermedia

First Committee Advisor

Bethany Engstrom

Second Committee Member

Arturo Camacho

Third Committee Member

Lindsey French

Abstract

Imbalance is an immersive installation that conveys the difficulties of balancing queer and rural identities in central Maine. This work of intermedial art is a synthesization of psychological, scientific, and artistic research.

In today’s uncertain political climate, it is important for queer people to communicate that there are ways to overcome hardships and hatred. Imbalance contextualizes artistic, scientific, and personal research through reflection, in both the mental and physical senses. The work illustrates how one’s identity is defined by instances from the past, but can be altered through technological and artistic intervention. Using digital means to alter images gives the artist a sense of control over their memories, which brings a sense of catharsis.

Queer identity is emphasized through posed images where the subject was putting on a smile for the camera, covering his true form. Through digital alteration, the images became silhouettes, creating anonymity and signifying a hidden identity. The digitally altered pictures are engraved onto acrylic, a material that is both clear and reflective. When the light of the projections hits the gallery walls, an empty space is created by the portraits. The empty silhouette represents the absence of the queer voice in rural areas. The projections that are cast onto the hanging acrylic are of places that represent rural Maine. The video was recorded in Waterville and Fairfield.

For a queer artist, projection can function as a tool to express hidden identities, reclaim space and visibility, explore internal emotions through visual externalization, and create a dynamic interaction between an artwork and the viewer.

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