On a Prezi slide, six multicolored blobs decorate a light orange webpage. Inside sits art of various forms — poems, photographs and designs on apparel — all tackling the theme of intimacy.
The Sex Chronicles Art Show is a virtual event hosted by the UO’s Health Services’ safer sex supply program, Protection Connection. The event is an extension of the Protection Connection’s Sex Talk Chronicles campaign, which seeks to engage student voices in programs around sex, sexuality and intimacy.
The art pieces are positioned alongside artists’ statements, reflections of their work and an anonymous submission taken from the Sex Talk Chronicles blog. The anonymous submissions are written letters to the participants’ past selves about what they wish they knew about sex when they were younger.
The Sex Talk Chronicles bases itself on two principles: reflection and imagination. Lydia Giersch, one of the art show’s organizers, said that it also aims to continue a dialogue that centers students’ experiences and voices.
“I also think this virtual art show and its theme of intimacy is powerful because it illuminates the ways that we can connect with strangers, who we might not have otherwise,” Giersch said. “We can connect with people around the human desire for connection and intimacy.”
Each of the six art pieces range differently in how intimacy is defined and expressed.
Tara Phillips and Jack Buechler submitted a photograph of a white hoodie with a graphic of two people intertwined with one another. The piece is called “The World is Quiet.” Their submission statement said the illustration symbolizes a raw connection between two people, and they chose the apparel because it represents an item of clothing partners tend to lend to each other.
Jeanette Helgerson submitted the drawing “Self Exploration.” The black and white drawing illustrates a naked human with ropes binding their upper half. Helgerson wrote in her submission that the piece represents his exploration of sexuality and kinks.
Other artists chose to submit self-portraits, collages or poetry.
Anna Pearl Johnson, a resident assistant at the UO, submitted a poem that blended various experiences revolving around intimacy.
“As with all my poetry, I don’t have a set emotion I’m trying to illicit from my readers. I write primarily for myself, not for the world,” Johnson said. “Sharing my work is just that, providing people a glimpse into my thoughts. So, if anything, I hope readers finish my poems with a sense of intrigue or inspiration. Who knows what their emotions might be? For me, that mystery is a part of what makes sharing my words exciting.”
Giersch said, since the pandemic, the way that people experience intimacy has changed.
With a six-foot barrier between others, our sense of connection has reached an all time low. The virtual show aims to illuminate the way individuals connect with strangers and themselves. As well as engage in different ways that we can “create and build new relationships with ourselves and intimacy,” Giersch said. “Everyone has a story to tell. When the artists responded with their own artwork to the reflections of their peers, they created something really beautiful,” Giersch said. “They created a dialogue that transcends words, offers validation and hope. The dialogue is what creates intimacy between strangers.”
The virtual art show can be viewed on Prezi until the end of the spring term.
