SPACE 242, Boston’s Low Brow Destination, proudly announces its September exhibition, the world premiere of THE WEDLOCK PROJECT, Confronting Perceptions of Same-Sex Marriage Through Visual,
Performance, & Public Art, with Part 1 of 3: ENGAGEMENT.

Artist team TTBaum and Michael Grohall present the multi-media exhibition Engagement that marks the beginning of The Wedlock Project. Engagement includes the photo series Bound To, the performance piece Romeos, and interactive elements. Further, invited guest artists Jay Critchley, Nathaniel Fink, Brian Halligan, Killer Banshee, and Luanne E Witkowski present their own variations on the definition of “engagement” through video installation, photography, graphite drawings and conceptual work.

The exhibition runs September 25 through October 23, 2009, with an opening reception and performance Friday, September 25, from 6-8pm in Boston’s South End. The artists will host an artist talk on Tuesday, October 20, 7- 8pm. RSVP is required for either event at www.space242.com. Regular gallery hours are Friday evenings, 6:30-
8:00pm, and by appointment. No RSVP necessary for gallery hours.

THE WEDLOCK PROJECT: ENGAGEMENT is sponsored in part by Harpoon Brewery, The Weekly Dig, ArtScope Magazine, and Too Fabulous For
Words.

ABOUT THE WEDLOCK PROJECT
Using autobiographical experiences of artists TTBaum and Michael Grohall, The Wedlock Project is an interdisciplinary visual and performance art series in three parts: Engagement, Public Displays of Acceptance, and Matrimony. Part 1: Engagement begins in September with a multi-artist visual and performance art exhibition at SPACE 242. Part 2: Public Displays of Acceptance, a series of public art interventions, will take place monthly November 2009 through May 2010. Part 3: Matrimony, a multi-day performance event, is a live, public same-sex
marriage ceremony.

The Wedlock Project confronts same-sex marriage from all sides of the issue: cultural, political, religious and personal. Wedlock challenges the definition of “marriage” in American culture, the “hetero-normalization” of the gay community, perspectives on “traditional” relationships, and the dispensation of civil rights in a culture that espouses separation of Church and State. Though several states in our union have made progress, the United States still lags behind many Western countries in legally recognizing same-sex relationships and granting the 1000-plus federal protections and responsibilities given to married couples.

Artist Statement:
The Wedlock Project stirs the pot. By provoking discussion and controversy through visual and performance art, we as gay artists hope to engage each other and a diverse audience in the complexities of a modern civil rights movement.

For many, marriage is a supreme privilege established by both civil and religious law. The profound meaning of marriage equalizes people amongst differing races, religions, and classes. This equality is now expanding to include same-sex couples. Yet civil rights issues always carry a strong emotional charge. For this reason, the issue is
threatening to those opposed to changing the traditional definition of marriage.

Same-sex marriage is complex, controversial, challenging and often confusing. Conceived of in three parts, The Wedlock project uses visual, performance and public art to confront the issue head-on by chronicling the romance of two men in love. With each piece the narrative progresses from the struggle for awareness, to the search for
acceptance and visibility, to the creation of new rituals and ceremonies that honor love, tenderness and intimacy.

ABOUT PART 1: ENGAGEMENT
Engagement is an interdisciplinary exhibition that marks the launch of The Wedlock Project, introducing a month-long visual, performance, and multi-media show. TTBaum, Michael Grohall and Nathaniel Fink will exhibit Bound To, a new series of photographs depicting struggle and commitment, intimacy and vulnerability. In addition, at the exhibition’s opening, Baum and Grohall will perform an original live piece called Romeos that directly addresses their engagement with a society that strives to keep them apart, their engagement with their own self-awareness, and, ultimately, their engagement with one another as a same-sex couple. According to them: Living in a hetero-centric world, intimacy between two men is confined to the realms of confrontation and competition—the worlds of sports and business. Somewhere in the search for money, power, and success, another longing exists; an
alienated self, seeking to expose the desire for love. Engagement begins with struggle.

Further, five guest artists will also exhibit multi-media, interactive, and visual art based on the word engagement (either in the context of marriage or in ways people engage with one another), including new work by Jay Critchley, Brian Halligan, Killer Banshee, and Luanne E Witkowski.

Viewers may sign up to be participants in future WEDLOCK events to share/record their thoughts and feelings on same-sex marriage that will become a portion of Part 3: Matrimony. [thewedlockproject.com]