They will flee like chaff scattered by the wind or like dust whirling before a storm (framed diptych; left) (2020)

Rosie Hastings & Hannah Quinlan are a multidisciplinary artist duo, interrogating the iconography of queer culture through sound, moving image, live events and through incredibly skilful drawings. They map the queer landscape in a myriad of ways, creating bodies of work that place underrepresented narratives at the forefront of their practice. One of their most prominent works is the UK Gay Bar Directory, an archive documenting over 100 LGBTQ+ venues across the UK. Their works serve as archival resources because of the emphasis on community and the importance of being queer and existing loudly.

Quinlan & Hastings’s diptych They will flee like chaff scattered by the wind or like dust whirling before a storm, portrays another aspect of their practice. Inspired by Michelangelo's sketch in the Royal Collection, Archers shooting at a Herm, about 1530, this graphic diptych depicts a scene of modern revolt between the police force and the people, The work of Quinlan & Hastings combines two registers: the power of the state, here depicted in a moment of crisis, and the rebellious energy of the people who protest and occupy public spaces. Like much of their work the imagery reflects contemporary and historical tropes of the LGBTQ+ community. These works deconstruct the power dynamics of place and agency through the gendered lens of visibility. Reminiscent of technical masters like Hogarth yet quintessentially distinctive to their contemporary style of queer narration, these graphite works focus on the foray of limbs in motion, capturing a sense of urgency and anxiety regarding the ownership of space.

One of The Box’s acquisition priorities is to collect emerging artists that radically rework specific histories in Britain, while making use of classical forms. The Box has also, for many years, been developing a community project looking at nightlife, and in particular sound and rave culture, which will be presented as an exhibition in the near future. The addition of these works will enable the collection to convey this theme in a variety of forms. Acquiring works on paper and film also contextualises the artists’ practice and adds to the museum’s increasing South West Film and Television Archive.

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