Vincent Grange - About
Dorothy’s Picnic Set (2024)
Dorothy’s Closet - v2 (2024)
Dorothy’s Closet - v1 (2024)
La voisine qui en savait trop (2024)
The House of Dorothy - v2 (2024)
Entre 70 et 75 degrés (2024)
The House of Dorothy - v1 (2023)
Bonnie (2023)
First Encounter (2022)
Maison Sauvage (2022)
KETA1000 (2021)
L’Allégorie de la Caverne (2021)
Dorothy’s Picnic Set (2024) - Amour Propre @Fabian Lang Gallery
Dorothy’s Picnic Set is currently exhibited at the ->Fabian Lang Gallery in Zürich, as part of the “Amour Propre” groupshow in october 2024 (alongside Carina Emery, Mark Wallinger, Kilian Rüthemann, Elena Alonso, Isabelle Young, Christin Khaukha, Sarah Dwyer and Xiao Guo Hui). The exhibition is open until November 9th 2024.
The installation includes three new pieces of work: Dorothy’s Picnic Cloth, Dorothy’s Picnic Chest and Dorothy’s Picnic Blinders. It explores the emotional tension of existing as an LGBTQIA+ person in public spaces: pride mixed with shame, a desire for ease contrasted with fear, and the urge to hide from the judging gaze of others.
Photos 1-6 : © Souplex Atelier
Photo 7 © Installation view of Amour-Propre, 2024, Galerie Fabian Lang, Zürich
Dorothy’s Closet (2024) - Læ Fol, l’Aube et l’Étoile @Espace Dukat
Dorothy’s Closet was awarded the ->Kiefer Hablitzel Göhner Prize at the Swiss Art Awards at ArtBasel in 2024, it then teleported back to ->Espace Dukat in Geneva for the ->Læ Fol, L’Aube et l’Étoile exhibition.
The LGBTQIA+ community has developed multiple secret codes over time to communicate one’s sexual orientation or gender identity discreetly in times of segregation. To name a few, Queer people have been able to identify each other through flowers, colored bandanas, ice cream flavors, cut fingernails, peacock feathers, or - by introducing themselves as “friends of Dorothy.” In 1981, when it was still illegal to be gay in the USA, The Naval Investigative Service (NIS) of Chicago heard about the “Dorothy” phenomenon within the US military and led an important investigation to catch her, hoping she would give out the names of all her gay military friends. In response to the absurdity of this homophobic investigation, I am currently developing and building the home of the imaginary best friend of the community – The House of Dorothy (2023). This project is a way for me to pay homage to queer spaces around the world and acts as a physical manifesto to stress the importance of their existence when 67 countries still criminalize the LGBTQIA+ community today.
Dorothy’s Closet (2024) is a new room in this ever-growing project. Starting from the expression “coming out of the closet,” it questions what a simple piece of furniture represents for those who must hide in it: a place of shelter, a place where you can be your true self, a place where you shape your personality, yet simultaneously a symbol of societal marginalization, fostering feelings of “abnormality.” Playing with the multiple paradoxes that accompany the “closet” (private/public, invisible/visible, inside/outside, comforting/disconcerting), the architecture, objects, and colors contribute to the storytelling of the life of Dorothy and how she and, by extension, members of the LGBTQIA+ community, shape their own closet.
In my artistic practice, absurdity is a tool I use to highlight the irrational nature of homo-, trans-, and bi-phobia. Reclaiming symbols of hate, such as the words «queer» or «fruits,» whic were once used derogatorily against LGBTQIA+ people, has been a powerful response by the oppressed, transforming insults into symbols of pride and resistance. The celebration of uniqueness and peculiarity within the LGBTQIA+ community has empowered many to accept, value, and reconstruct their identities. Through numerous references to queer theory, history, spaces and activists, and by reinterpreting everyday objects, I aim to glorify these aspects of the community that have been marginalized for so long.
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Video: © Courtesy BAK/OFC, Gina Folly, 2024
Photos 1-6 © France Bellmas
Photos 7-16 and map © Tanguy Troubat - Souplex Atelier
Dorothy’s Closet (2024) - Swiss Art Awards (BS, CH)
Dorothy’s Closet was awarded the ->Kiefer Hablitzel Göhner Prize at the Swiss Art Awards at ArtBasel 2024 -
The LGBTQIA+ community has developed multiple secret codes over time to communicate one’s sexual orientation or gender identity discreetly in times of segregation. To name a few, Queer people have been able to identify each other through flowers, colored bandanas, ice cream flavors, cut fingernails, peacock feathers, or - by introducing themselves as “friends of Dorothy.” In 1981, when it was still illegal to be gay in the USA, The Naval Investigative Service (NIS) of Chicago heard about the “Dorothy” phenomenon within the US military and led an important investigation to catch her, hoping she would give out the names of all her gay military friends. In response to the absurdity of this homophobic investigation, I am currently developing and building the home of the imaginary best friend of the community – The House of Dorothy (2023). This project is a way for me to pay homage to queer spaces around the world and acts as a physical manifesto to stress the importance of their existence when 67 countries still criminalize the LGBTQIA+ community today.
Dorothy’s Closet (2024) is a new room in this ever-growing project. Starting from the expression “coming out of the closet,” it questions what a simple piece of furniture represents for those who must hide in it: a place of shelter, a place where you can be your true self, a place where you shape your personality, yet simultaneously a symbol of societal marginalization, fostering feelings of “abnormality.” Playing with the multiple paradoxes that accompany the “closet” (private/public, invisible/visible, inside/outside, comforting/disconcerting), the architecture, objects, and colors contribute to the storytelling of the life of Dorothy and how she and, by extension, members of the LGBTQIA+ community, shape their own closet.
In my artistic practice, absurdity is a tool I use to highlight the irrational nature of homo-, trans-, and bi-phobia. Reclaiming symbols of hate, such as the words «queer» or «fruits,» whic were once used derogatorily against LGBTQIA+ people, has been a powerful response by the oppressed, transforming insults into symbols of pride and resistance. The celebration of uniqueness and peculiarity within the LGBTQIA+ community has empowered many to accept, value, and reconstruct their identities. Through numerous references to queer theory, history, spaces and activists, and by reinterpreting everyday objects, I aim to glorify these aspects of the community that have been marginalized for so long.
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Video: © Courtesy BAK/OFC, Gina Folly, 2024
Photos and map © Tanguy Troubat - Souplex Atelier
La voisine qui en savait trop (2024) - Printemps Carougeois (GE, CH)
For the finissage of the exhibition The House of Dorothy at Printemps Carougeois on May 4th 2024, the project hosted a drag queen performance by the one and only Princesse GenderFuck. La voisine qui en savait trop tells the story of a nosy woman who infiltrates the house of her newly moved-in neighbor, Dorothy.
This collaboration was organised by the queer festival Everybody’s Perfect and the Printemps Carougeois.
The House of Dorothy: un projet de Vincent Grange
La voisine qui en savait trop: une performance de Princesse Genderfuck
DJ set: Klit Osiris
Video: Souplex Atelier
Costume: Safia Semlali
Songs:
If U seek Amy - Britney Spears
Glamorous - Fergie ft. Ludacris
Let’s Have a Kiki - Scissor Sisters
Over the Rainbow - Judy Garland
Destination Calabria - Alex Gaudino
Video footage:
Tanguy Troubat
Guillaume Martin-Taton
Ankita Das
Anouk Haas
Clara Christin
Vidéos © Tanguy Troubat - Souplex Atelier
The House of Dorothy - v2 (2024) - Printemps Carougeois (GE, CH)
This project was first exhibited at the Haute Ecole d’Art et Design of Geneva (HEAD). The project was then revisited and redesigned in some aspects for a solo show at Printemps Carougeois in april 2024. More information on the project itself here.
In collaboration with the Festival Everybody’s Perfect, The House of Dorothy hosted a very special drag queen performance by Princesse GenderFuck. Video coming soon.
An extension of The House of Dorothy, Dorothy’s Closet will be exhibited at the Swiss Art Awards for ArtBasel from June 10th to June 16th 2024. It will then teleport back to Espace Dukat for the Lae Fol, l’Aube et l’Étoile exhibition opening June 21st 2024.
Context
In order to avoid persecution for homosexuality in the United States during the mid 20th century, gay men, and later the LGBTQIA+ community as a whole, introduced themselves as “friends of Dorothy” in order to discreetly communicate their identity, gender or sexual orientation. In the 1980s, the Naval Investigative Service heard about this phenomenon within the US army in Chicago, and led a prolonged and futile investigation to catch Dorothy, hoping she would share the names of all her gay friends in the military.This immersive installation invites the public to embark on a journey through the different rooms and corridors of the House of Dorothy, this most wanted imaginary woman. In addition to condemning this homophobic investigation through a philosophy of absurdity, this project stands as an homage to the many queer spaces around the world and their stories, and intends to highlight the importance of their existence. At the intersection of Queer History and spatial design, the architecture, artifacts, and different machines contribute to the storytelling of the imaginary life of this extraordinary woman.
PRESS:
Tribune de Genève: La «Maison de Dorothy» fait une ode aux espaces queer (Irène Languin)
Magazine 360: Are you a friend of Dorothy ? (Arnaud Gallay)
L’Agenda queer 360: La Maison de Dorothy
Photos © Tanguy Troubat - Souplex Atelier