Ruins of a Nation, 2026

I am walking backwards on the path of reinventing ancestors.

I reached Short Mountain Sanctuary at midnight on Beltane Eve. 
Sounds of drums were coming from a clearing down the path. 
I walked, a shadow among others, feeling my way through the darkness. 
Momentary lights from LED hoops and poi drew colorful shapes. 
I followed the glow of a bonfire that led me to a crowded circle. 
The flames lit up nude bodies, adorned with jewelry, tattoos and flowers, dancing to the beats of the drums. 
Now and then, a guttural cry pierced the night. 
I watched, mesmerized, despite being tired and still recovering from my recent illness. 
It struck me that I had never associated queerness with something so ancient, so primordial as the surrendering of our bodies to nature. 
Here, queers are guardians of Nature and Nature preserves us from outside gaze.

Installation views: Ruins of a Nation, 2026. Projection mapping on linen screens

Ruins of a Nation is an alternative cartography of the United States, using trans bodies as markers of its ruins. I asked friends to connect me with trans people they know in different states. Each of them sent me a video of themselves among ruins of their choice. The project is on-going until all 50 states are represented. By situating trans individuals among sites of colonial violence, economic collapse, or environmental negligence, I juxtapose those perceived as "threats" against the material manifestations of the U.S. imperialist machine. A sound piece accompanies the video projections: my retelling of my journey to Short Mountain Sanctuary, a gathering of Radical Faeries in Tennessee, asks what a queer spiritual kinship would look like, in contrast to the coherent “whole” promised by the nation-state. This voyage in time requires viewers to physically navigate the space, filling in the blank intervals and placing their own bodies in direct relation to the projected figures.

With the participation of:
Ian Acevedo
Sylvie Althoff
Sage Mushroom Alexander
Kevyn Breedon 
WC
vin caponigro
Claire
Ian Gerson
Mad Luellen
Doza Mendoza
Van Preston
Jacob Alden Sargent
Lorenzo Triburgo & Sarah Van Dyck
G & Venus
Phoenix Wood

Sound: Michael Lloyd
Fabrication: Robyn Spencer-Beck

Excerpts from Harry Hay, “This new planet of Fairy-vision” (1979) and “Radical Faerie proposals to the “March on Washington” Organizing Meeting” (1986)