Eagle UCSC

In Eagle UCSC, I delve into the unexamined history of art within leather bars and kink spaces, while also proposing a forward-looking vision for the community’s visual culture amidst shifting landscapes of queer bodies and desires. Collaborating with a diverse group of contemporary gay artists, I aim to present a more inclusive and reflective portrayal of the diverse bodies and desires prevalent in these spaces today. The suspended wooden figures, crafted with a jigsaw in homage to the traditional form of artwork found in leather bars, serve as embodiments of this modern perspective. Central to the installation is a physical wooden bar, symbolizing the historical foundation of the leather community by presenting interviews and historical media. Sitting at the bar positions one between the past and the potential futures of these rapidly disappearing spaces.

Jordan Fickel is a multidisciplinary artist specializing in sound and game technology, wooden cutouts, and graffiti tools. His solo work interrogates unexamined normative viewpoints to create installations and sound pieces. Jordan is influenced by media and glitch art, the queer community, video games, and his personal experience with neurodivergence. His MFA thesis work includes elements of social practice and experimental documentary. Jordan collaborates as half of the art duo BEARPAD, creating explicitly fat positive and sex positive queer installations for parties and galleries all over the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond.