The Barber Shop presents

Painfully Obvious
by Chad States

While visiting my parent's home, I went through a box of my childhood photographs and belongings. I found no drawings of tanks or planes or army men – instead I discovered drawings of horses, rainbows and teddy bears. Inspecting family photos and school portraits proved just as disconcerting. I was looking at a box full of evidence that was full of clues, so painfully obvious, of my sexual identity that anyone could see it. Gleaning a survey of photographs and belongings that I feel point towards my gay identity long before I had ever articulated it to myself, this personal investigation asks the viewer about their own notions of what signifies gayness and whether these signs can be seen as proof of an identity.

Saturday February 9th 2008
6-8pm
1852 Tulip Street, Philadelphia, PA

A roaming exhibition space, The Barber Shop presents the work of visual and performing artists in the Philadelphia area. For the 2007-2008 school year, The Barber Shop continues to support both current and recently graduated Tyler School of Art students, as well as graduate students in the arts at Temple University's main campus and artists from outside the Philadelphia area, exhibiting each artist for a one night solo show. Having moved out of its original space, the gallery now operates at varying venues, as each artist is curated along with an apartment within which to show their work. Roaming from home to home, The Barber Shop presents not only site-specific work but also context-specific and event-specific work, allowing for the unique quality of the home to become an intrinsic part of the work or event presented there. Tyler alum Walsh Hansen and current Tyler graduate student Kimberly Brandt co-direct and curate.

thebarbershopgallery@gmail.com