That was the fi rst piece that I had done in the series . I had found a diary of someone who had gone through gay conversion therapy . That ’ s where the driving force behind the piece was . He was unsuccessful at the therapy and his journal ended abruptly . The red pill at the end is to symbolize his life force . I have a lot of the participants in my pieces use their blood to symbolize moments in their life or to contribute to a life that they still have , and a life that they still have to live with .
Limp Wrist is also about specific moments , recalled from five different people . How did you choose the five participants for that piece ? I actually just chose the fi ve people that I knew best at the time . Two of my coworkers , one of my classmates , and my partner and I . I asked each of them to think of a moment where they had questioned their safety or selfworth . I want it to evolve into a continuous series . It ’ s my hope that one day I will be in a gallery space and I will be able to fi ll it with hundreds of wrists and be able to share everyone ’ s stories . It ’ s a universal struggle that we all go through . The process of coming out and coming to terms with us being gay , and our families coming to terms as well . There ’ s always a singular struggle that we have to go through . There ’ s one moment in our lives that we lose our breath . It gets knocked out of you , and from that moment on you have to actually continue to question your worth . That was what I could talk to those participants about and that ’ s where it came from .
I love that you had them sign in their blood .
I wanted them to sign it in their blood and I also wanted it to be a metaphor for that moment of drawing blood , pricking them in one way or another .
You also do casts of your teeth . Is it one single tooth ? It was actually my four wisdom teeth , so it wasn ’ t actually a tooth that got knocked out as a kid , but it signifi es it . It is all different casts of the teeth . That one , at the moment , applies most to the shooting at Pulse . That was about gay hate crimes in 2014 alone . When I researched all hate crimes , 57 % of the LGBT community hate crimes were against gay men . I fi gured out that there were 961 gay men that had died in that year alone . I don ’ t know what I am
above : Better Blood , acrylic , nylon , blood of participants left : Daily , wood , gelatin capsules , paper , ink , copper
going to do this year for my tribute to last year .
I am looking forward to seeing it , in the most solemn way . I think what you are doing is extremely important and it ’ s making waves . Like I said , I find it educational , hopefully , others do as well . I hope so . It ’ s always been my goal for people to sit back and realize that shit ’ s not happening .
Forrest will be showing at Gallery 247 at FAVO on the first Friday of October , 2106 .
You can see more at : ForrestLawson . com
Placebo # 2 , Syringe , crystallized sugar , saline , charcoal *, wood , glass , chalk * Mixed with the urine , blood , semen , and saliva of the artist .
Orlando ’ s Art Scene , v . 1.2
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