Vincent Grange - About
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 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
Entre 70 et 75 degrés (2024) - Popote @Espace Dukat (GE, CH)
Entre 70 et 75 degrés (2024) is a project in collaboration with ->Tanguy Troubat. It was first exhibited for the first collective exhibition ->Popote of Collectif Kimera at ->Espace Dukat in february 2024.
FR La cuisine domestique occidentale est un lieu chargé d’histoire qui reflète l’évolution des mœurs et usages de la société moderne. La cuisine porte le poids d’un héritage discriminant, historiquement réservée aux servant.e.s ou aux femmes.
Face au poids de son héritage, une cuisine instable fléchit. Entre 70 et 75 degrés est un projet de réappropriation de l’espace de la cuisine. Elle se transforme en un espace de partage, porteuse de nouvelles valeurs sociales. Les objets qui la composent décryptent son histoire qu’ils tendent soit de dépasser par l’absurde – comme le speaking tube autrefois utilisé par les souverains pour communiquer avec leurs domestiques qui trouve ici un usage ludique – soit de créer de nouveaux usages au travers d’objets manifestes – comme la marmite d’une contenance démesurée pour inviter à la production et consommation collective des repas.
L’espace influe un temps plus long à la préparation du repas, cherchant à dépasser les discriminations et le manque de questionnement liés aux traditions et à l’optimisation. La poésie du quotidien et la sensibilité à ce qui nous entoure prennent le dessus, créant ainsi un espace de création, de souvenirs, de réflexions et de partage. La cuisine retrouve une dimension humaine.
EN The Western domestic kitchen is a place full of history that reflects the evolution of the customs and practices of modern society. The kitchen bears the weight of a discriminatory heritage, historically reserved for servants and/or women.
Faced with the weight of its heritage, an unstable kitchen bends. Entre 70 et 75 degrés is a project to reappropriate the kitchen space. It is transformed into a space for sharing, carrying new social values. The objects that compose it decipher its history that they tend either to surpass through the absurd - like the speaking tube formerly used by sovereigns to communicate with their servants which finds a playful use here - or to create new uses through obvious objects - like the pot of an excessive capacity to invite the collective production and consumption of meals.
The space influences a longer time in the preparation of the meal, seeking to overcome the discriminations and the lack of questioning linked to traditions and optimization. The poetry of everyday life and sensitivity to what surrounds us take over, creating a space for creation, memories, reflections and sharing. The kitchen regains a human dimension.
Photos © Souplex Atelier