Edie Fake mural imagines⁣ gender-affirming future

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A vibrant, two-story mural now graces the‍ atrium entrance⁢ of Chicago’s
museum of Contemporary Art‍ (MCA). The ⁤work, titled

The Free ⁢Clinic for Gender Affirming ‍Care, is by artist Edie Fake.

The mural is the first piece in “City In A Garden: Queer Art and
Activism,” an exhibition opening july⁢ 5. The exhibit explores the role of
queer art and activism in Chicago from the 1980s to today.

Fake, an Evanston native now ⁢living in ‍Twentynine⁤ Palms, California,⁢ was
⁣ long active in Chicago’s comics and⁢ arts scenes.The artist’s colorful
⁣ façade invites viewers into a reimagined reality. It presents queer
⁢ spaces ‍that ⁣welcome trans and gender-diverse individuals.

⁢ Fake told ⁤the ‍Observer that ⁣there has been an ongoing ‍assault on trans
‍healthcare access and⁣ trans rights in general. access to gender-affirming
⁢ care has given so much ⁣to the artist. Fake wants to believe in a better
⁣ world.
⁤ ‍

⁤ ⁤ The artist ⁤added that ⁢part of making that fantasy a reality involves
creating an unfeasible building that they want to be possible. Fake is
⁢ ‍thinking ‍about ⁤spaces that are⁣ necesary for the queer community and
seeing⁤ them beautifully and extravagantly in terms of bounty, ⁣instead of
constant attack or scarcity.

The mural began as a drawing, then became a digital rendering. MCA
‍ curators printed the piece ⁢as wallpaper for the atrium. The high-end
⁣ ⁣printing ⁣process allowed Fake ⁣to use a⁢ million thousand ⁤colors, creating
⁤ scintillating color gradations.

⁣ Fake said that the colors changing from one thing to another is a very
⁣ ⁣ trans⁢ aspect of their paintings,and⁤ of this design ⁢in particular.
⁢

‍ It was vital to Fake that the building look like it could exist, but
also have parts that look unusual, impossible or upside down.The
artist said there is a queerness to it. It’s unfamiliar but also
⁤ possible once you see it.

The clinic’s most visible design element,along⁣ with its many ⁢colors,
⁤ is the abundance of windows of different shapes and sizes.‍ Fake wanted
it to be⁣ a space that⁤ you contemplate going into,or that makes⁣ you
curious to go into.The ⁢artist didn’t⁣ want it to be a building that felt
like a fortress, but very open and free.

⁤ ‍ Fake’s work has long embraced⁢ an ‍aesthetics of openness and freedom. the
artist first gained⁤ acclaim for the 2000 comic series
Gaylord Phoenix, published‍ as a book in 2010.

Fake⁣ has moved away ⁢from comics over⁢ the last decade and a ‍half. The
⁣‍ artist said they remember hitting a point with comics⁤ where⁢ narratives
started⁢ crumbling.They didn’t know if they could make⁢ another ‍comic that
wouldn’t just be a repeat of comics they’d already made.

Instead,⁣ Fake‍ began creating ‍architectural drawings, like the Memory
⁤ Palaces series.‍ This reimagines or invents the facades of queer Chicago
⁣ nightclubs,bookstores,clinics and other venues. ‍Fake said that some of
the Memory Palaces works will be in “City In⁢ A Garden,” a natural ⁤fit
as ‍they⁢ are about Chicago’s queer community and ‍queer⁣ history.

⁤ People don’t necessarily think of buildings ⁣or architecture as gendered or
⁣ queer. But for Fake, imagining⁢ buildings is one way as an artist to
⁤ ⁣ address queer visibility ⁣and create queer spaces.

Fake said that reading about art movements, ‍it’s not⁣ necessarily ⁢memoirs
‍ of a single person.Instead, you read about an entire art community or
scene. And drawing spaces gets to ⁤that. Like, this ⁣happened. Who was
⁢ there? What does it mean for the present or⁣ the future?

What’s next

⁤ ⁣ As “City ⁣In A Garden” ⁣unfolds, Fake’s mural serves as a vibrant
⁤ invitation to reflect on the past, present and future⁣ of queer⁣ spaces and
activism ⁢in Chicago.
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