installation view of Society of 23's Locker Dressing Room
Society of 23's Locker Dressing Room
2017
mixed-media installation
Includes the video flags
2011
Single-channel video with ambient sound
61 minutes
Edition of 3
Society of 23’s Locker Dressing Room is an immersive, site-specific installation that presents an intimate interior within the ongoing narrative of the Society of 23. The space merges the visual language of a collegiate sports locker room with the intimacy of a backstage theater dressing room that collapses preparation and performance into a single charged environment. I present an edition of twenty-three ritual robes, masks, and conical hats arranged at each brother’s personalized station complete with a mirror and stool. The room functions as a site where bodies gather, identities are rehearsed, and something collective is about to happen, but what that action might be remains deliberately unresolved. With this installation, I examine masculinity as both aspiration and performance, shaped by athletic ritual, theatrical display, and the desire to belong.
Throughout the space, I overlap symbols of nationalism, protest, and queerness. An American flag and a rainbow flag appear side by side, echoed by a video of both flags waving their patriotism and pride in an endless loop. A photograph titled The Anthem depicts each brother wearing the Society’s ritual robe while singing “The Star-Spangled Banner” and either standing or kneeling in postures inspired by athlete-led protests against racial injustice. Rather than presenting unanimity, the image reveals internal difference, positioning dissent as an essential part of collective identity. The room is further layered with historical references, from printed summaries of global acts of injustice to a quote written on a mirror with lipstick reminding visitors that history must be confronted rather than concealed. A locked door labeled “Brothers Only” withholds access even as the installation invites everyone to enter. In Society of 23’s Locker Dressing Room, I treat masculinity, power, and belonging as performances that only exist through repetition, practice, and rehearsal.
