The Body and Its Veil
H. GENE THOMPSON
Thompson uses wearable soft sculpture performed with dance and movement to explore themes of articulating trans identities, gender fluidity, breaking down white supremacy, and liberation from capitalist society.
They explore the somatic experience and ask societal questions about
how we gather as people, and how our bodies relate to one another.
Curated by Sofia Caetano
VISIT H. GENE THOMPSON'S
H. Gene Thompson (they/them) is a multimedia artist from Pittsburgh, PA who uses wearable soft sculpture performed with dance and movement to uncover unseen narratives, and explore themes of closeness and isolation. Thompson uses a unique visual language to disrupt expectations and isolating barriers, building inclusive public art performance events that connect people. They work at the intersection of sculpture and performance, using the work to facilitate change in social space, and asking questions about the boundaries of our interactions.
The wearables in their work are membranes visualizing energetic connections, and wearing them is a mirror to reverse the familiar and access hidden truths. When entering the work, the performer sheds their habitual perceptions of themselves and is able to connect to a form of authentic expression. This process aims to delve deeply into processing emotions around the history of the body and its current context. With this work, Thompson is addressing the ancestral harm caused by white body supremacy.
Thompson has been a resident artist at Laboratory (Spokane, WA), CASP (Lubbock, TX), Sulfur Studios (Savannah, GA) and AS220 (Providence, RI). They have been the recipient of grants and residencies at a number of organizations in Pittsburgh, PA such as the Office of Public Art, BikePGH, G.R. Watershed Association, the New Hazlett Theater, the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh, the Kelly-Strayhorn Theater, NK CAC, and Future Tenant. BFA 2012, CMU.