ARTIST STATEMENT

Throughout history, the queer community hasn’t always been able to be out and proud. The community developed sophisticated codes to coexist as queer in a world that criminalized their identities. Polari, a secret British slang used by gay men, allowed them to speak freely without fear of arrest. As time progressed this language became lost and very few within the community still know of it. 

Drop Everything, is a collection of artwork exploring the history of the bathhouse within the queer community and its role as a cruising ground for gay men. 

Utilizing the codex language of Polari, in combination with drawing, printmaking, sculpture, and digital techniques, I am giving the language a contemporary life. Combining contemporary items or images associated with acts within the queer community allows viewers to see items and then veils of text referencing the language.

ARTIST BIO

St. Louis based curator, educator, and fine artist, Zackary Petot, has been honing his skills in printmaking over the past several years. He graduated from the University of North Texas with his Masters of Fine Arts in Printmaking in 2018, his work explores themes of queer codes within the LGBTQ+ community which are still referenced or long lost to our current queer culture. His work has been exhibited nationally, along with being published in several art magazines nationally and internationally. He currently is the Exhibition Director at the St. Louis Artists’ Guild, and is an Adjunct Professor and Gallery Director at the St. Louis Community College Forest Park.

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