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    MOTHA and Chris E. Vargas present: Trans Hirstory in 99 Objects

     
    Test Site
    August 13, 2016 — June 04, 2017
    Trans Hirstory in 99 Objects brings together archival materials and works by contemporary artists to narrate an expansive and critical history of transgender communities. This presentation of 99 Objects is the second iteration in a multi-exhibition, multi-venue project organized by Chris E. Vargas, Executive Director of the Museum of Transgender Hirstory & Art (MOTHA), and focuses on trans lives and experiences in the Pacific Northwest. Taking an inclusive approach to transgender, gender non-binary, and gender transgressive identities and expressions, the exhibition explores histories of community making and activism, biographies of historical figures, and legacies of violence and resilience.
    MOTHA is an imaginary museum that Vargas (U.S., born 1978), an interdisciplinary artist and video maker, conceived in 2013, and that takes form as temporary autonomous events, programs, and exhibitions. By design, MOTHA is forever “under construction,” a framework that openly questions how a history of transgender individuals, communities, and culture might be organized, while also exploring the relevance of constructing a history around an identity category that is evolving and often contested. The number 99 in the exhibition title riffs on The Smithsonian’s History of America in 101 Objects, which was inspired by A History of the World in 100 Objects, a joint project of the BBC and the British Museum. The number 99 acknowledges the conceptual challenges and institutional roadblocks inherent to collecting trans stories—not often valued by those writing the history of human achievement—while simultaneously creating the possibility to reimagine the dynamism of this past and to develop expansive visions for trans lives in the future.
    The exhibition features work by artists Ria Brodell, micha cárdenas, Rhys Ernst, Darius X, Lorenzo Triburgo, Jono Vaughan, and Storme Webber.
    Chris E. Vargas is a video maker and interdisciplinary artist based in Bellingham, Washington, who received his MFA in the Department of Art Practice at the University of California, Berkeley, in 2011. In collaboration with Greg Youmans, he created the web-based trans/cisgender sitcom Falling In Love ... with Chris and Greg (2008 - 2013). With Eric Stanley, Vargas co-directed the film Homotopia (2006) and its feature-length sequel Criminal Queers (2015).
    CREDITS

    Trans Hirstory in 99 Objects is organized by Chris E. Vargas, Executive Director of the Museum of Transgender Hirstory & Art, with Nina Bozicnik, Associate Curator at the Henry Art Gallery. Trans Hirstory in 99 Objects is a project of Creative Capital . Its presentation at the Henry is supported by ArtsFund.

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    <p><i>Criminal Queers </i>[video still].<i> </i>2016. Directed by Chris Vargas and Eric A. Stanley. Stills courtesy of Vargas and Stanley.</p>
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    <p>From the #stronger series by micha cárdenas</p>
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    <p>Chris E. Vargas. Courtesy of the artist.</p>
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    <p>Jamie Berrout. Courtesy of the artist.</p>
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    Este suelo secreto (To be human once more)

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    <p>Image credit: Jonathan Vanderweit</p>
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    Fall Open House

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    <p>Image credit: ET Russian</p>
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    <p>Documentation of Jono Vaughan’s <i>4800 West Jackson Blvd, Chicago, IL </i>(from <i>Project 42</i>). 2013. Performance with customized fabric sewn by the artist. Image courtesy of the artist.</p>
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    <p>Untitled (Gay and Trans Pride). 2016. Digital graphic. Courtesy of Chris E. Vargas.</p>
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    Local Transgender Narratives and Collective Identities

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