Artwork / 2022

In 2022, I moved away from the conservative New Jersey shore village where I lived for six years and settled in Lambertville, a small progressive town that’s been a haven for Halloween-lovers and creative types for generations.

Lambertville has inspired me in many ways, but most obviously with Friend Request, a series I made about my fellow Lambertvillains and also about my exit from social media. The NJ.com video reporter Andre Malok made this lovely piece about Friend Request!

In March, my art was published in two books. My flaming portrait of Trump from 2017—a painting that represents a turning point in my art practice—became the cover of Larry Jacobs’ book Democracy under Fire, released by Oxford University Press. Eleven of my paintings appear in Erica Smiley and Sarita Gupta’s The Future We Need, published by Cornell University Press.

In April, the Belgian filmmaker Aline Magrez came to New Jersey with her crew to interview me for her documentary about how the work of biologist Joan Roughgarden has helped many to understand queerness in a new way. Since my book Crime Against Nature is based largely on Dr. Roughgarden’s research, Aline wanted to talk with me about the process of making science more accessible through art.

Proud of My Stripes is the name of this tiger-shaped Progress Pride flag that I made at the beginning of 2022, and, though it was originally designed as a simple patch I could sew onto the back of my coat, this painting has sparked so much good! First, it inspired a series of rainbow magic animal incarnations, and then it connected me with the excellent Austonian company, Pride Socks, which made this image available on a special edition of t-shirts!