Homotopia / IDAHO / 2012

"Punched" For James Parkes, Stanley Street, Liverpool

The Pansy Project’s evolution continues; I worked with Homotopia on IDAHO 50 a project with the Merseyside Probation Trust, for International Day Against Homophobia, the followiong description appeared on Homotopia's website.

"Can you feel me now, lad?" with beating, Progress Place, Liverpool

"Support International Day Against Homophobia & Transphobia. The inaugural launch of IDAHO 50 on May 17^th 2012 will be a high profile and visible display of action against homophobia & transphobia on Merseyside. The first city to create, participate & engage in IDAHO 50. Homotopia has collaborated with 50 Merseyside companies & organisations who will mark the day by flying a rainbow flag, or create a visual statement with an artist on the day"

"Can you feel me now, lad?" with beating, Progress Place, Liverpool - Alternate View

Pansies were planted in a rectangular plot in St Luke’s Church Yard, the plot though unremarkable in its appearance represents months of meetings and organising by Homotopia and The Merseyside Probation Trust.

Participants in the ‘Community Payback’ scheme helped plant the pansies on site on May 17th, (above) though not specifically linked to homophobic hate crime the people who took part represented society’s determination to challenge unacceptable behaviour, The Pansy Project in this context reflects an element of society that is affected by crime and chooses to challenge it in a very different way. The ‘Community Payback’ team built planters that were placed around Liverpool and filled with pansies for IDAHO, this action represents an interesting development of The Pansy Project's social engagement, something that I am currently researching for the forthcoming publication on The Pansy Project.

On May 17th representatives of Liverpool council such as the Lord Mayor Cllr Frank Prendergast who helped plant pansies on site, (above myself with two LGBT Liverpool councillors; Cllr Louise Baldock and Cllr Gary Millarand the Lord Mayor) this ritual of planting with dignataries has become a significant and symbolic act that emphasises the ritulaistic nature of The Pansy Project and its ability to mould itself into various forms. Below left to right; The Lord Mayor's consort and daughter; Lesley, Lord Mayor Cllr Frank Prendergrast, Anne Pakula Head of Operations at Merseyside Probation Trust, Gary Everett (Homotopia) and myself speaking at the event.

It seems at this point The Pansy Project is being assimilated by other organisations and interpreted in different ways. This does not always reflect my own aesthetic but does reflect the issues The Pansy Project endeavours to confront in planting pansies at the site of homophobic abuse. In effect this outside activity in my opinion strengthens the community engagement of the work I do. As ever I also planted pansies at the site of incidents of homophobic abuse (pictured top) and it this element of the project that operates as the core or skeleton of my work. It is this activity that has enabled me to communicate with other disciplines, in this case the justice system and IDAHO which helps highlight the global phenomenon of homophobia in all its manifestations. After the event the participants chatted over tea and biscuits at a nearby cafe.....

A special thanks to all that helped facilitate The Pansy Project in Liverpool for IDAHO 50. Further documentation of the days events will be coming soon....

As ever my research continues, also coming soon, news of The Pansy Project being interpreted in another way during IDAHO 2012...

"Have a good night! Faggots!"

"Have a good night! Faggots!" Whitechapel Road, London for Nathan

"You Fucking Queers!"

"You Fucking Queers!", Fairfield Road, Bow, London

I'm embarking on a new round of plantings in London, I have several locations in mind; the above is the first this year, I am happy to plant a pansy for you. I just need a location and a quote to name the picture. To get in touch follow me on Twitter or find me on Facebook or e-mail me at pjharflee@hotmail.com

Tatty Devine & The Pansy Project

The Tatty Devine & The Pansy Project Brooches are ready and available on Tatty Devine's website here! Here's the statement and description of this latest venture!

"Artist Paul Harfleet plants pansies at the site of homophobic abuse. Each location is photographed and named after the abuse received. The Pansy Project has many incarnations; small scale unmarked individual plantings, free pansy 'Hand Outs' where the artist speaks to passersby about the project, installations of thousands of flowers at the site of homophobia and exhibitions of the photographs the artist has made over the last five years. The Pansy Project has featured in festivals and exhibitions around the world and last year won a Gold Medal at the RHS Hampton Court Flower Show in the ‘Conceptual Garden’ category.

As The Pansy Project has developed the artist has often worked with large organisations from police forces to queer festivals to various voluntary organisations understandably all have had varying expectations of The Pansy Project and its role as artwork. Harfleet has negotiated and considered carefully various issues regarding how The Pansy Project is represented. A frequent request from many organisations has been the creation of some kind of badge, pin, or ribbon as the pansy appears to fit well within this charitable methodology; such as the poppy which honours the war dead. Paul was cautious throughout discussions regarding this issue as whatever badge, brooch etc created would simply be a pansy on a lapel and would lose the contrast or political edge the artist thought was most effective about The Pansy Project.

So when collaboration between Tatty Devine and ‘The Pansy Project’ arose Harfleet approached the prospect with eagerness and used the opportunity to consider how to incorporate written abuse within the proposed decorative jewellery object. Tatty Devine completely embraced the quirky edginess of this idea and have understood completely the motivations in creating this piece. The resulting collaborative brooch embodies some of the best qualities of The Pansy Project, it initially appears as a pretty non-offensive flower adorning a lapel or cardigan but on closer inspection quotes the most frequently hurled homophobic abuses; “Fucking Dyke!” “Queer Boy!” and “Fucking Faggot!” are all depressingly frequent titles of planted pansies but in the context of jewellery this quote can be worn with political purpose. The size of the piece enables the meaning of the pin to be gradually revealed when closely examined. This examination most likely preserved for trusted friends and allies is intended to create surprise and curiosity in the viewer who will then ask questions about the nature of the piece of the wearer thus continuing the conversational nature of The Pansy Project and its evolution as a method to explore the peculiarities of homophobia and its continued existence in society."

Each brooch was hand painted by me, so each is unique!!....

The Pansy Project / Discussion

"Die Queer! Die Queer!Die Queer!" Birmingham

As The Pansy Project and Tatty Devine Brooches have launched I have as usual gone about the now customary procedure of utilising social networking to promote the collaboration. People seem to have embraced the element of subterfuge and narrative with the brooches which reclaim the language of abuse and enable people to show solidarity with people who experience homophobia. What surprises me is how willing people have been to play around with the roles suggested on the brooch, women bought ‘Queer Boy’ to wear and friends bought the brooches for their straight family members to wear as an act of solidarity.

Though the limitations for proper discussion through Twitter arose when Twitter@MsBathtub suggested she felt excluded from The Pansy Project due to her Bisexuality, what follows is a rather disjointed discourse due in part to my frustration with the limited characters allowed on Twitter.

“@MsBathTub ‘@tattydevine I adore you, but can we have a Pansy Project brooch for us Dirty Bisexuals?’

@ThePansyProject ‘ @tattydevine @MsBathtub The fun thing is that people of all sexualities have bought them of each slogan! This I guess is about solidarity!:)’

TPP ‘@MsBathtub it’s about opening discussion rather than identity politics, I love that a friend bought a "Queer Boy" Brooch for her husband! :)’

MBT ‘@ThePansyProject With respect, it's easy to say it's not about identity politics when it isn't your identity being erased.’

TPP ‘@MsBathtub I don't believe I'm erasing identities; TPP began as an artwork from my own experience. Making it a catch all 'abuse'….’

TPP…..’would demean TPP and the various experiences of abuse that many groups go through!.....’

TPP…..’I've been doing this for six years and have thought hard about the various issues that surround TPP! It's the discussion I like.’

MBT ‘@ThePansyProject You don't get to tell other people what their experiences are. I have discussed this with other bi people, and we feel .. ‘

MBT…..excluded by TPP. Whether you 'believe' you're erasing identities is beside the point. We're not asking for a 'catch all', we're asking that….

MBT….’an entity that supposes it speaks for the whole queer community to acknowledge a significant portion of it. To say that that would demean…..’

MBT…..’TPP is frankly insulting. You spoke of someone who wears a 'fucking faggot' pin even though he is straight. That reeks of hetero privilege…..’

MBT….’.and, while I applaud his solidarity, it doesn't work for the bi community…..’”

So that is what was Tweeted; looking at it in this way makes me realise that the points I was intending to make weren’t made very clearly, so I intend to do that here, as I think this is a complex and interesting discussion:

Primarily The Pansy Project is an artwork derived from my own experience as an artist (who also happens to be gay). The authenticity of this is extremely important to me; The Pansy Project’s role as a comment on homophobia is just one element of a work that utilises photography and installation to explore issues surrounding psycho-geography, urban art and the politics of location. I began to plant and distribute pansies to others who experienced homophobic abuse quite early on which was primarily embraced by many though it was at this point that some gay women suggested that they felt ostracised from The Pansy Project because ‘Pansy’ mainly refers to weak or effeminate gay men, however I felt that it was a close enough leap as the hatred expressed in these attacks is rooted in homophobia a description of which is below.

“Homophobia is a term used to refer to a range of negative attitudes and feelings towards lesbian, gay and in some cases bisexual, transgender people and behavior, although these are usually covered under other terms such as biphobia and transphobia. Definitions refer to irrational fear, with the implication of antipathy, contempt, prejudice, and aversion. The term "homophobia" is observable in critical and hostile behavior such as discrimination and violence on the basis of a perceived homosexual or in some cases any non-heterosexual orientation. In a 1998 address, author, activist, and civil rights leader Coretta Scott King stated that "Homophobia is like racism and anti-Semitism and other forms of bigotry in that it seeks to dehumanize a large group of people, to deny their humanity, their dignity and personhood.”

(Forgive the Wikipedia Source)

As I continued to meet people and discuss the nature of The Pansy Project another issue arose; that straight people also experience homophobia simply for being perceived as a gay person. The point is, is that any person can experience homophobia at any time, whether they are straight or gay. It is the experience of homophobia I mark as an artwork; I do not intend to “speak for the whole queer community” I simply mark one very small element of human experience, an occurrence that unfortunately anyone can experience at any time, including it should be said bisexual people. I simply mark homophobia that occurs on the street by planting a pansy. I do not alter the action if the person is gay, black or happens to fall into any other group as so defined by society. This to me is the simplicity of The Pansy Project that people seem to appreciate. It is not the addition of so called identities that would “demean” the work, if I began to alter the fundamental methodologies of The Pansy Project to include people who claim a separate identity and therefore demand a separate methodology I would be diluting the conceptual clarity of my work. In my opinion it is this that would be insulting. The brooches titles were quoted from actual plantings I have made over the last six years, “Fucking Faggot!” being the most commonly occurring. This is rooted in real experience; my experience and others. I hope this clarifies my motivation as an artist. I am nothing more than that, I do not claim to have answers or solutions to homophobia I simply make work that I hope is good work and, work that opens up discussion.

From Queer to Eternity

Paul Harfleet; "Matchstick Gallows" ; 4000 matchsticks, Noose (Photo Lee Baxter)

‘From Queer to Eternity' brings together David Hoyle’s De Profundis and Paul Harfleets’ Pansy Project, working as two disparate artists whose paths have crossed intermittently over the last twenty years in various contexts from Manchester bars and night clubs to theatre venues and the festival circuit. Harfleet and Hoyle are neighbours who pop by for the occasional cup of tea. They are friends who occasionally write, they are perhaps distant brothers who have lost touch. But remotely they have a fondness for each other and the way the other works, fundamentally however they both have a shared interest and engagement with the politics of gayness and its peculiar position in contemporary society. Each were born of a North West art school, both have courted drag / androgynous personas and both have engaged with political activism. These similarities however have created vastly different aesthetics and methodologies, which this show endeavours to explore and elaborate on.

David Hoyle

(Above David Hoyle; Photo Lee Baxter) In 2000 David Hoyle took to his blades at the Streatham Ice Arena and spectacularly killed off the Divine David. The persona he had created a decade earlier had established a unique position in queer cultural life, a sort of anti-drag act caustically lamenting the narcissism of the gay mainstream – ‘the biggest suicide cult in history’ – through song, dance, painting and whatever else took his fancy. In many ways he was an idealistic, even visionary, creation, although the constructive element to his diatribes wasn’t always the focus of the response. David Hoyle’s performance ‘SOS’ is more autobiographical and has been shown at the Soho Theatre, Royal Exchange and Sydney Opera House. His debut feature film released in 2010 ‘Uncle David’ has won numerous awards. For this exhibition David Hoyle’s De Profundis shows a selection of his ‘paintings from the edge’, the externalization of inner torment. The paintings explore the necessity of love in a psychopathic world.

Paul Harfleet

"Seth" ; Model Tree, Golden Noose (photo Lee Baxter)

For this exhibition a single photograph of a planted pansy (part of the artist’s ongoing Pansy Project) marking political homophobia operates as the starting point for research, which has informed wider exploration resulting in the visual representation of masculinity and punishment. The widely reproduced images of the public hanging of Mahmoud Asqari and Ayad Marhouni in 2005 in Iran have become an iconic symbol of the Middle-East's stance on homosexuality. The selection of images and objects placed here represent a visual narrative of capital punishment and culturally sanctioned homophobia from public execution to bullying. ‘Artist as a Boy’; subtly augmented transgresses the already troubling image of this half naked boy (Paul Harfleet as a child) and addresses the origination of the artist’s interest in homophobia.

Paul Harfleet "The Cranes" ; Model Cranes

Trucks and cranes initially banal and associated with childhood and masculinity here represent the modern Iranian use of them for public hanging. ‘A history of gallows’ through model making and drawing subverts the usual reading of hobby and invites contemplation of culturally sanctioned execution. ‘Matchstick Gallows’ is a scale model of a gallows made from four thousand matchsticks; matchstick model making originated as a pastime for criminals, in creating a model of a apparatus for execution the artist invites contemplation on the nature of crime and punishment. The selection of apparently innocuous model cranes is in fact a carefully sourced collection of model/toy cranes designed to promote brands which continue to supply Iran with the cranes that are used for public hangings for a range of ‘crimes’ from homosexuality to adultery.

Paul Harfleet is a London based artist who devised The Pansy Project in Manchester six years ago. Since then The Pansy Project has featured in many queer festivals across Britain and beyond. Last year The Pansy Project Garden won a Gold Medal at the RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show and will be launching his collaboration with Tatty Devine in September 2011.

For more Images and Information click below:

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=185220094867563

CROWDFUNDER NEWS!!

CROWD-FUNDER

Hello Dear Readers!!..

In a generous act of support Crowd Funder UK have suggested that I reduce my goal amount. This contradicts the usual rules of Crowd Funder UK but; "we love what you're doing and want to help as much as possible" this means that after much consideration and with a continued commitment to the rewards promised to all that have already donated which are outlined on my pitch I have decided to reduce the amount to £3500, which now means I am at 89% of my new goal amount (only £382 away) I think this will certainly enable me to get my publication onto your bookshelves, though with perhaps slightly reduced production costs and research time, unless I am able to gather further support from other sources.

Again I'd like to thank Crowd Funder UK for bending the rules in this way and a huge and heartfelt thank you to all that have donated, shared, and promoted my Campaign which ends on MONDAY!!!.....

Sincerely Paul Harfleet......

From Queer to Eternity

I’m delighted to announce that I am showing alongside the amazing David Hoyle in August (preview August 26^th in Manchester) this two person show will showcase our practices, detailed below. “From Queer to Eternity' brings together David Hoyle’s De Profundis and Paul Harfleet’s Pansy Project: Working as two disparate artists whose paths have crossed intermittently over the last twenty years in various contexts from Manchester bars and night clubs to theatre venues and the festival circuit. Harfleet and Hoyle are neighbours who pop by for the occasional cup of tea. They are friends who occasionally write, they are perhaps distant brothers who have lost touch. But remotely they have a fondness for each other and the way in which the other works, fundamentally however they both have a shared interest and engagement with the politics of gayness and its peculiar position in contemporary society. Each were born of a North West art school, both have courted drag / androgynous personas and both have engaged with political activism. These similarities however have created vastly different aesthetics and methodologies, which this show endeavours to explore and elaborate on in this exhibition.” See more and tell me your coming on Facebook.

I am also approaching the end of my Crowd Funder Campaign, a mission to publish a book about The Pansy Project. I still have a long way to go and a lot more to raise, I’m choosing to remain optimistic until the very end, though I am aware it is a lot to ask from supporters of The Pansy Project. Whatever happens I am excited about the next few months which include the show above, my forthcoming collaboration with Tatty Devine and a series of new plantings across London which will coincide with the launch of the Tatty Devine Pansy Project jewellery line in the autumn.

So watch this space for updates and all news and of my Crowd Funder Campaign.

Pansies in Iowa USA!

For Jamey Bruker, 1977-2006, planted by Kirk Stump

The Pansy Project has been going now for six years and has as you can see from the blog and website has had many incarnations. When I have given out pansies to passersby who then plant them in locations that they choose it is always interesting to see them become little memorials which are separate from my input. Recently due to my ongoing Crowd Funder Campaign (I'm at 17% with sixty eight days to go) I have been busy on Face Book and Twitter trying to raise the profile of The Pansy Project. The other day I noticed on Facebook that someone's profile picture was a pansy and commented on it. Kirk Stump then responded by saying that he had planted several pansies around Iowa In Memory of Jamey Brucker, his best friend who was murdered because he was gay. He told me that he had planted five pansies all over the city of Des Moines, Iowa USA. I asked him to send me some images and these are what surround this post. It's as ever terribly sad, but amazing that people from all over the world are beginning to embrace this simple action. It is fascinating that the image has in a way returned the pansy to the initial inspiration for The Pansy Project; the sites of memorial gardens, road side memorials and graves. Thank You Kirk.

"Get the Fuck Out of Here you Mother Fucking Cock-Sucker!", Des Moines, Iowa, USA, planted by Kirk Stump

"Gay Piece of Shit!", Des Moines, Iowa, USA, planted by Kirk Stump

Crowd Funder!

(Above) Iris Robinson; “There can be no viler act, apart from homosexuality and sodomy, than sexually abusing innocent children.” BBC Belfast.

Due to some recent computer problems I've been unable to update the blog! So here's to updating you with all the news that's been occurring at The Pansy Project HQ! I've been very busy on Twitter of late, managing to gain some 'holy grail' moments there. George Michael of Wham fame, kindly Tweeted about The Pansy Project which created a massive explosion of followers. It's really quite amazing, the power of celebrity, other big Twitter @mentions are just moments away I'm sure!!

I've also embarked on a rather ambitious quest to raise £10,000 to fund a period of research and development and the eventual creation of The Pansy Project Publication through what is known as crowd-sourcing on Crowd Funder UK, It's a large amount of money to raise but with all the rewards promised for your investment I needed to be realistic about what I can achieve! My mission is to create a beautiful book that presents all the photographs of the pansies I've planted over the last six years, I want to create a place for discussion and exploration about the nature of homophobia and the way I have made work throughout the last few years including the Gold Medal winning Pansy Project Garden I created last year with my brother Tom Harfleet at the RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show 2010. I want to explore the forthcoming collaboration with Tatty Devine. I want to position this ongoing project within a wider discourse including psychology, politics, artistic practice, activism, guerrilla gardening and urban art. I of course need your help dear reader to spread this post through all your social media networks to help raise these funds! I'm optimistic I can get there, with your help. For more details on the pitch and how to donate click here, any amount will help, any amount will guarantee your inclusion in the publication!!..

I'm also currently working on the initial drawings for the Tatty Devine collaboration more details to follow on that soon!...and planning a forthcoming show in Manchester! More details to follow soon!!...

As ever my research continues!

The Pansy Project /Outburst / Vimeo

The Pansy Project from Pixelbrix on Vimeo.