He Said, They Said

For his solo show, He Said, They Said at Coalmine, James Bantone uses the essential aesthetic features of the barbershop to recreate a framework of exposure and community-generating. His transformation of the space into one dedicated to self-expression and queerness relies on the subversion of tropes such as ambiguity, exclusion, as well as empowerment. Dealing with different modes of self-concealment and self-expression, the exhibition enforces a form of self-determination while simultaneously creating allusions to the limits of social constructions.