"A Thin 'Pink' Line"

Today with the support of Homotopia and The Merseyside Police I went to the family home of the Causers to plant pansies. Various locations were suggested over the last few weeks though eventually it was seen as most appropriate to plant them at Michael's childhood home. As usual I wanted to plant them in a thin line delineating an architectural feature, in this case the front garden path. I have used this similar technique in many locations, I realised that I've not fully explained why:

I see the individual plantings I make as elegiac symbols of resistance, solitary markers of an incident, sometimes relatively minor, occasionally truly horrific. In the case of larger plantings I feel that a line of thousands of pansies offers a powerful manifestation of The Pansy Project, with large plantings help is welcome and enables a community the chance to show solidarity. Usually these installations occur in municipal locations as in 'Memorial to the Unnamed' (below). Though in transferring the intervention to a domestic scale The Pansy Project becomes a personalised memorial. The Causer Family welcomed me into their home today, amongst the usual domestic detritus and décor, memorials nestle. In one corner of the living room is a large photo of Michael surrounded by flowers and candles; an alter to a lost son. My humble contribution was to plant a line of large lilac and purple pansies along the garden path in a tightly packed line in the front garden (above). This unusual method of planting augments the subtle language of gardening and for me transforms the pansies from regular garden favourite to a potent statement against homophobia.

Somewhat bizarrely this method of planting came to me in a dream. In 2005 when I was first asked to work with many pansies I was invited to place two thousand blooms outside Manchester Gallery in association with queerupnorth. Many helpers arrived at the site, laden with pansies and they looked to me for supervision. Initially they were placed in a rectangle and looked dull and lifeless, despite their zinging pinkness. Fortunately I was able to postpone the placing of the pansies until the next day. That night I dreamt of bloody battles and men at war, struggling over trenches and storming the enemy, I awoke with the phrase “thin red line” swirling around my head. The problem was solved, I saw the pansies could act as a thin 'pink' line. The metaphor seemed appropriate as each pansy became a platoon member, every one a potential sentinel in the battle to confront homophobia.

And so today the childhood home of Michael Causer became a location of solidarity and community spirit. Family and friends, neighbours and various representatives of the Police Force and community groups all gathered to plant pansies, to remember and discuss the realities of contemporary homophobia and its effects on all it touches. My thanks to all that attended and especially to the Causer clan who seem to embody the phrase 'grace under pressure'.

My research continues.....

Homotopia TV - A Pansy for Michael Causer

The Pansy Project } Family

"POOF!" Back Hilton Road, Aberdeen, planted by Theone Tait for Stuart O'Neill

On April 22nd 2009 Pink News reported that Stuart O'Neill had received homophobic abuse from his own Mother; “Celia Duncan, from Aberdeen was fined £250 for shouting homophobic abuse at her 16 year old son. Duncan admitted breaching the peace by screaming expletives and allegedly calling Stuart and his boyfriend "poofs" after she caught the pair holding hands. Duncan also admitted to sending abusive text messages. Stuart told the BBC: "I feel really betrayed by my mum. What she said to me was vile and hurtful. "My mum didn't like the fact I was gay. "She told me to stop being gay or get out of Aberdeen. She basically threw me out of the house." Cecilia Dyckhoff, prosecuting told the court: "The complainer was walking with his friend on Back Hilton Road when he saw Miss Duncan's car going past, brake suddenly, turn round and stop. "He knew it was her car and started to run away. He and his friend climbed a wall and ran through a wood and the accused chased him shouting at them, making homophobic remarks." The court was told she left a voice-mail saying: "I will get you, believe me, and you will get your head kicked in." This was followed by a text message that said "I will get you and your poof." the story continues here.

Some of the 3000 pansies planted for David Morley on The South Bank as part of LLGFF

My own mother lives near Aberdeen so I asked if she would plant a pansy at the site, she agreed to and the above photograph is documentation of the planting. This action extends the reading of the gesture that The Pansy Project is and infuses it with notions of family reparation. This particular road side is now not simply a location associated with familial disquiet and confrontation but has become a site for family collaboration and support in this case with my own mother. This perhaps contributes to balancing the still real experience many people live through when coming out as gay. I have personally been fortunate with my own family as they have collaborated with me in different ways. My step-mother is a gardener and helped project manage my contribution to the LLGFF a couple of years ago. We even managed to get a couple of my sisters (Harriet and Chloe) to help with the pansy plantings one cold morning in April 2007. Yet more family attended the 'Pansy Give Away' on the South Bank, My nephew, Charlie (8 at the time) excitedly helped water the pansies ready for distribution to the public.

The recent planting for Michael Causer that continues to reverberate through my consciousness crystallises the position gay people have within families, Michael was loved by his Mother and Father and extended family and so are many other gay people irrespective of their sexuality. Though sadly this is not a universal experience, from the real and terrifying fear of rejection that comes with 'coming out' to ones own family to the reality of governmental criminalisation of homosexuality, globally and locally it is still socially challenging to be openly gay. I hope that The Pansy Project in some small way helps reflect the communal intolerance of homophobia and I am happy that it can demonstrate the potential for familial support. My Research Continues....

News!

For Michael Causer, 1989-2008, Liverpool

As I continue to process the planting of Michael Causer's pansy I have been pleased with the level of publicity the gesture has generated. Below are a series of links to on-line magazines that have mentioned The Pansy Project and Michael Causer.

Pink News

Liverpool Echo

City Life

Also Richard Reynolds in his own quest to promote Guerrilla Gardening mentioned The Pansy Project during his lecture on BBC Radio 3

I have continued to explore Twitter which is proving quite useful for promoting the project and learning of other homophobically motivated crimes and incidents which so rarely feature in mainstream news. A couple of recent stories have struck me; 11 year old Carl Walker-Hoover, of Massachusetts US, killed himself last week after suffering months of homophobic bullying at school. He did not identify as gay but was verbally and physically abused by classmates 'A Day of Silence' in the US spread awareness of the story.

Also in Scotland the 16 year old, Stuart O'Neill was verbally attacked in Aberdeen by his own Mother, Celia Duncan reportedly called her son and his companion “Poofs!” in the street and later sent text messages proclaiming, “I'll get you and your Poof!”. Stuart O'Neill's Mother was fined £250. The attack was apparently ignited when O'Neill's mother spotted her son and his friend holding hands. Which is topical in light of a new project started in London by David Watkins, 'A Day in Hand' is intended to raise awareness and acceptance of same sex displays of public affection. A subject I explored a couple of years ago with Age Concern and LGYM as part of queerupnorth, here is a link to 'A Day in Hand' which launches on May 17^th IDAHO (International Day Against Homophobia). I am currently awaiting confirmation of an event to coincide with IDAHO, updates to follow!

A Pansy for Michael Causer.....

For Michael Causer, 1989-2008, Tarbock Road, Liverpool

As previously promised I planted a pansy for Michael Causer this week. I spoke to Michael's mother Marie Causer the day before the planting, to get her blessing and to explain to her the nature of The Pansy Project. I devised the project nearly five years ago and this has been the most intense and emotional week. We met on Tarbock Road, Huyton, Liverpool where Michael's battered body was unceremoniously dumped by his killers last July, thought provoking and moving for me and surely harrowing for Michael's parents, we sombrely stood metres from where Michael Causer was discovered. The Causers revealed details about the case in hushed tones, and as we stared at the mundane corner of abandoned flower beds and undergrowth, littered with functionless posts and inexplicable barbed wire I selected a position for Michael's pansy. I knelt amongst the dirt and weeds and carefully placed it where I felt it would flourish. I stopped and we spoke a little more, we looked on, the tiny lilac flower zinged against the feral daffodils and wasteland. We looked on. We discussed our shared battle to combat homophobia, Michael's parents hoped that this would never happen to another family. I nodded supportively hoping for the same though knowing I had more pansies to plant; for others and myself. I took photographs, we looked on and I gave Marie a pansy the darkest of purple to plant in their garden, she had described the garden to me the day previously, a small corner for Michael. “He loved flowers”, she said. We shook hands, they thanked me and we parted, I turned back to see the pansy vulnerably nestled in the flower bed, and hoped it would survive, at least for a while.

"You Fucking Queer Cunt!" For Scally Dandan, Whitworth Street, Manchester

Though Michael's pansy marks the tragic death of a young gay man at the hands of homophobes, others planted last week celebrate the ability to survive even the harshest of attack. For Scally Dandan I planted “You Fucking Queer Cunt!” Scally Dandan was attacked last summer on the corner of Whitworth Street in Manchester he sustained multiple injuries. His resilience and positivity is a credit to him and to those that are victims of the harshest manifestations of homophobic hate crime. And for Daniel Taylor I planted a pansy entitled “Batty Boy!”, homophobic abuse accompanied by egg throwing, a comparatively minor crime though still completely unacceptable and committed by teenagers.

"Batty Boy!" For Daniel Taylor, Exchange Square, Manchester

So I persist in memorialising a whole gamut of hate crimes motivated by homophobia and each is marked in the exact same way. This potentially endless repetition a tiny horticultural ritual intended to encourage a culture to question the reasoning for the apparently ubiquitous homophobia that goes on and on. Of course I have more to plant for myself and have heard of more locations lately, I will update the blog when I have done so. In the meantime here are a few links to some comments and coverage of The Pansy Project that have recently come to light. On Guerrilla Gardening Queer Cincinnati Santiago's Dead Wasp City Life My thoughts are with Michael Causer's loved ones, having met his parents I could see that he was loved and embraced for who he was irrespective of his sexuality. My research and project continues.

Spring } 2009

Planted by Clara Lawes, Abbey Road, Brighton

Spring, a prelude to summer promises future balmy evenings and the city streets are once again returned to us to be enjoyed and consumed. I am momentarily elated by the lighter longer days until I realise that the evening sun exposes my transgressive presence amongst the masses. My burgeoning seasonal optimism has already been challenged this year as I have experienced two incidents of homophobia whist gaily traversing the streets. As the creator of The Pansy Project you might expect that I would be resilient to such public displays of homophobia, yet it is, and still remains a shock. When a car full of men yell “Queer Bastard! You Fucking Queer Bastard!” I still recoil with a combination of fear, horror and embarrassment. I Immediately search for the nearest source of soil promising myself that I will return to plant a pansy - to resist, I attempt to convince myself that this is a protection, a defence.

In the five years since I began The Pansy Project I have spoken to hundreds of people about my experiences, the locations I have marked are seared into my memory, as are the names of the people who have been killed. With the increasing presence of 'social networking sites' like Facebook and Twitter a new context for discussion has emerged, like-minded people can gather virtually and explore the issues, offer support to bereft families and friends, with this a contemporary sense of solidarity is garnered.

Michael Causer's death last year in Liverpool is perhaps the most visceral example of this. His Facebook group with over six thousand members has brought together a community shocked by the death of this young man, beaten so severely that he died in hospital a few days later. Much has been made of the lack of media interest in this story, still even now many of my gay peers know nothing of the case. I have been contacted by various journalists and magazines to offer a view on the absence of coverage. I frequently suggest that the mainstream media believe that the problem of homophobia has been solved. The liberal left generally accept 'difference' though the majority of the public still read 'The Sun', which continues to demean and disparage the gay community, the mainstream still see gayness as a source of hilarity and reductive stereotypes are ubiquitous.

I have a platoon of pansies awaiting dispatch on my balcony, ready to mark the abuse I and others have experienced. Yet I am one man on a futile journey to combat homophobia. I have before invited others to plant pansies for themselves, I've asked that they take photographs and send them to me for addition to my website. This has proven to be a lot to ask from those with a passing interest, I dislike 'forcing' interaction, I believe the audience should want to get involved so have resisted asking too much from an already supportive group of people across the world who have showed interest in The Pansy Project. Though I fear my recent resistance to invite participation may have discouraged the few that may genuinely want to engage more directly with my project.

The image at the top of this page was not taken by me, it is a photo of a pansy planted in Brighton by Clara Lawes an interested member of the public who wanted to explore The Pansy Project herself. She asked if I'd planted any pansies in Brighton, I had not, I casually invited her to go ahead and plant one if she could find a location. She did and the image above documents the planting. I experienced a strange sense of 'Uncanny' when I first saw the image; I have planted thousands of pansies over the years, though could not recall the location. It is peculiar and heart-warming to suspect that others may want to participate in this way.

I now formally invite you to plant a pansy at a location of homophobia if you wish. It can be your own experience or that of a friend, you can do it alone or in a group, you can gain permission or not. It can be any colour (though I myself tend to abstain from yellow) when you have planted, take a photograph which in some way locates it in the place that it has been planted. If you have details of the abuse, this will become the title of the planted pansy, if you don't it can be dedicated to the person it's planted for. I would love to see the photograph, you can add it to The Pansy Project group on Facebook or e-mail it to thepansyproject@aol.co.uk. I will then post a selection on this blog and the website.

Perhaps you will plant and perhaps you will not, you may just feel that you could if you wanted to, and for me that is the point. I mark every experience of homophobia with a planting, though until I do, it is the potential of the planting that I think about until it has been realised, for me this is a valuable part of the process.

Over the next couple of weeks I have four pansies to plant, two for myself in Manchester, another for a friend who was attacked on the corner of Whitworth Street. And I plan to plant one in Liverpool where Michael Causer was left for dead. I have sought permission from a family member which has been kindly granted. I will post the photographs here when they are planted.

My comments on the death of Michael Causer are due to appear in an article on Michael Causer in next months issue of Attitude magazine.

My Research Continues......

Blackmarket, Bluecoat, Liverpool

Last week I attended Blackmarket an art project by Hannah Hurtzig hosted by Bluecoat in Liverpool, each audience member was able to book half an hour with an allocated expert. I was one of these experts and spoke about Guerrilla Gardening and its connection with The Pansy Project, it was a fascinating and enlightening experience, it's always interesting talking to others about my work as new interpretations are often uncovered. In preparation I updated some of my research and came across a couple of interesting projects with some connection with my own ongoing work. Firstly there is an exhibition happening at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco entitled ‘The Gatherers’ the show brings together ‘a diverse group of practioners who combine art with cultural activism’. Also Fritz Haeg who is an architect and social designer, his ongoing project ‘Edible Estates’ transforms front lawns into public gardens. I was struck by his ideas on the notion of public space. As ever my research continues. In other news I've recently been interviewed about The Pansy Project the interview appeared on many websites around the world, the interviewer was especially interested in my thoughts on the recent death of Micheal Causer in Liverpool, making my appearance there all the more poignant. This appears to have generated an increase in numbers of my Facebook group which now has over a thousand members.