I'm Calling It a Retreat
q Center
​2009

There are no gimmicks in this show. I created the work with extremely limited resources. In 2008 I spent 9 weeks in a Native American based rehab for alcohol abuse and this work is my process of trying to navigate my identity and my efforts to find a connected form of treatment. I’m a gay atheist who was raised as a Jehovah’s Witness, so I am immediately distrusting of groupthink and lack of questioning that sometimes happens in rehab. Going to the 17 acres near St. Helens was my white flag. It hasn’t been the easiest path since leaving residential treatment, but I think I’ve found a rhythm that works well for me. 

At this point in an artist’s statement my normal song and dance would be to show how I am an oppressor and how there is no winning the label game, but this is a different type of show. In this show there is no winning because it’s not a label game, it’s my life and it’s futile to point out that I’m an oppressor because in this context I think I’ve been hard enough on myself already. Sometimes I need to just allow myself to win, even if it’s just for the months of October and November of ‘09.

Exhibited at Q Center October 2009
Created at NARA April 2008