♡
For more documentation or information from any of the projects below,
please reach out to the studio.︎︎︎
please reach out to the studio.︎︎︎
︎︎︎TOTALRESISTANCE() (2021- )
2024
[if] GONE-BAD-IN-THE-MIDDLE; [return] a love disguised as "an oppositional forever"
[if] GONE-BAD-IN-THE-MIDDLE; [return] a love disguised as "an oppositional forever"
Undisclosed
[if] GONE-BAD-IN-THE-MIDDLE; [return] a love disguised as "an oppositional forever"; is a cyberqueer adaptation of Beauty and the Beast. Using hacked fencing scoreboard systems, machine learning, electronic music and arrangements for classical voice, this work requires two fencers to engage in a series of épée fencing bouts that effect sound and image output during a durational performance. Two singers follow along improvisationally, engaged in a retelling of the traditional story at the direction of the machine output. When the performance is not active, sound and image deteriorate slowly until the next épée bout.
Chicago, IL;
MCA Chicago
MCA Chicago
THEY LAID DOWN THEIR HAMMERS AND CRIED is a black cyberqueer reimagining of the classic tale of John Henry. Using a system of video sculptures and homemade electronic triggers, Holloway creates a landscape of choreographic possibilities that explore questions of strength, survival, and freedom. Two performers use sledgehammers to activate digital signals across the 45-minute performance, using vocabulary and routines from object-oriented programming and physique building.
Richmond, VA;
ICA @ Virginia Commonwealth University
ICA @ Virginia Commonwealth University
“DEWCLAW is a realtime multimedia composition that uses the choreography of common sadomasochist bondage play and the faux-rage fueled narrative vocalization styles of 1980 and 90’s wrestling promos, to consider old and forgotten memories, movements, habits, desires, and dreams we hold on to and assimilate into our bodies and identities.”
︎︎︎ THE CHAMBER SERIES (2017-2021)︎︎︎
“THE CHAMBER SERIES s is a portfolio of scores, inspired by graphic notation for classical music that illustrates a series of BDSM acts. Using an invented symbol-based language, these scores are set up to be read and “played” out as a performance called a "scene" - an intimate moment for a single actor exploring the popular kinks. This scene is one in celebration of puppy play. Built in 10 parts, each score is accompanied by a partner publication, called The Companion, that deepens the viewing of THE CHAMBER SERIES scores. This publication is a .zipfile-based reader that incorporates multimedia files viewers must play, read, or solve. For example, the first issue of The Companion contained an edition of puzzles; a crossword, a word search, and a printable version of a fragmented image. Each puzzle leads to a clue, helping to build a single sentence. That single sentence will be translated into the framework for a film appearing in the next part of the reader. The scores and the reader are seperate works, related only by that which is interior (thoughts and feelings) and that which is exterior (commands and actions) to the main character. Eventually, this intricate web of work builds itself into a two channel afrofuturist narrative centered around a human socialized as a wolf, who realizes she is the mechanical playpet for a very cruel, unknown master. I draw my inspiration from the intersections of Donna Haraway’s work on the Companion Species Manifesto, Julius Eastman’s scores written in graphic notation, and Grant Morrison’s graphic novel WE3.”
Selected works from the series :
New York, NY ; Performance Space New York
“._SUITABLE_FOR.EXE[CUTION] — part expanded cinema installation, part evening-length performance–marks the end of the series and is organized around scores. Ranging from direct commands to subtle interventions the performers and audience members have to negotiate how to respond to the power at play. To the artist, BDSM’s explicit rules around submission and domination offer the opportunity to recognize more clearly how in our lives “pleasure, love, desire, violence, and anything that could be dark or dangerous are in conversation with each other at all times.”
2021
_.DEVICEPLAY(trust and touch, care and reflection, [a study of denial])
_.DEVICEPLAY(trust and touch, care and reflection, [a study of denial])
Art of the Networked Practice Online Symposium; Chicago, IL
“We desire intimacy. We think about what camera angles produce it, which systems we use to enhance it, and how interactions can makes us feel the warm things for people on the other side of a screen. In two parts : trust and touch, care and reflection, this composition reflects on how we compare closeness with the bodies of our networked devices and closeness with other humans or alive things. This work is the first work in which Holloway directly addresses intimacy in her practice.
As a part of her project The Chamber Series, this moment is dedicated for the experience of online voyeur. She allows viewers access and share a private moment between Soldier the human puppy, her devices, and her watchers.
We desire intimacy. We think about what camera angles produce it, which systems we use to enhance it, and how interactions can makes us feel the warm things for people on the other side of a screen.”
As a part of her project The Chamber Series, this moment is dedicated for the experience of online voyeur. She allows viewers access and share a private moment between Soldier the human puppy, her devices, and her watchers.
We desire intimacy. We think about what camera angles produce it, which systems we use to enhance it, and how interactions can makes us feel the warm things for people on the other side of a screen.”
2019
.Scheduled(VariableRatio):secondary-conditioned- immediateReinforcement(s)- handlerSearch1_DrillAndPractice.exe_Companion4.1
.Scheduled(VariableRatio):secondary-conditioned- immediateReinforcement(s)- handlerSearch1_DrillAndPractice.exe_Companion4.1
Refiguring the Future; Hunter Galleries; New York, New York
This is one half of the 4th part of The Chamber Series. Presented as part of the Companion, sister publication to the Chamber Series' performance scores, this book is modeled after a set of architectural plans that walk us through the structure of intimacies inherent in the act of creating desired behaviors within others and the experience of following the directive of another who desires a particular behavior from you. Operative conditioning, a method of behavioral training that relies on rewards and punishments, is visualized throughout a series of diagrams, questions, and creative narratives. It asks readers to consider how proximity, deprivation, yearning, generosity, and need guide and manipulate our relationship to others.
Lying on a plinth 12" high, text placed in front of the document asks you to "KNEEL." This initial request highlights consent as the central meditation of the piece. In order to interact with the project, you must follow the behavior desired by the artist. Keeling as a gesture engages the viewer in the behavioral training as described in the book - to read the book is a reward for kneeling. The experience of this document recursively highlights a range power dynamics - dominant vs. submissive, animal vs. human, free vs. captive, yearner vs. the desired, object vs. self - in an effort to mediate the experience to all who encounter it, giving everyone an equal foundation from to relate to the text.
Lying on a plinth 12" high, text placed in front of the document asks you to "KNEEL." This initial request highlights consent as the central meditation of the piece. In order to interact with the project, you must follow the behavior desired by the artist. Keeling as a gesture engages the viewer in the behavioral training as described in the book - to read the book is a reward for kneeling. The experience of this document recursively highlights a range power dynamics - dominant vs. submissive, animal vs. human, free vs. captive, yearner vs. the desired, object vs. self - in an effort to mediate the experience to all who encounter it, giving everyone an equal foundation from to relate to the text.
︎︎︎DOGWHISTLE (2012-2022)︎︎︎
DOGWHISTLE is a series of video works turned installations showing multi-part narratives about quietly signaling the existance of longing for queer love lost. Violence, longing, memory, and poetry are central to the themes of each work although emphasis on which medium or device is used as as a framework to analyze those feelings change.
Selected works from the series :
Madison Museaum of Contemporary Art; Madison, WI
“The fifth iteration of the artist’s DOGWHISTLE series, closeLISTENER(reverse, react, “desire”) is a multimedia installation that uses rolling text and animated video to visualize and contemplate loss. The dog whistle—a sound that some humans can hear—can prompt physical discomfort for those who cannot hear it and cannot identify the source. The artist suggests it is analogous to feelings of grief without a clear origin and without a known method of relief. Using poetry, an accompanying 30-minute sound piece, sculptural guides, and the series signature shocking blue light and bold text, the artist prompts the viewer to reflect on the nature of loss, both permanent and impermanent.”
2022
i would’ve said goodbye if i thought you loved me back
+ http://iwouldvesaidgoodbyeif.ithoughtyouloved.me
[DOGWHISTLEv4]
i would’ve said goodbye if i thought you loved me back
+ http://iwouldvesaidgoodbyeif.ithoughtyouloved.me
[DOGWHISTLEv4]
Squeaky Wheel; Buffalo, NY
A memory stone and love letter, i would’ve said goodbye if i thought you loved me back is a four channel realtime multimedia installation and (a secret)part 3 of HOLLOWAY’s DOG WHISTLE series. Using the series’ signature blue light and heavy bold text, the work thinks through the aesthetics of accumulation and the vocabulary of loss using poetry and 3D objects that pile up and overflow. Each object on screen is a manipulation of a digital scan of an item that once held significance in the artist’s life and will be destroyed on a continuous loop for the duration of the installation. Parallel to the window installation, i would’ve said goodbye if i thought you loved me back is also accessible at home via the web and is programmed to evolve with audience participation through Valentine’s Day 2022. The exhibition will be accompanied by a newly commissioned essay on the artists work by Camille Bacon. Web development support provided by Nick Briz. Additional writing at the exhbitiion’s closing program [ E N | C L O S I N G] with participation from Natalie Jasmine Harris, zakkiyyah najeebah dumas o’neal, and CY X.
Pleasurehome: Desiring Queer Space; Toronto, Canada
For thirty days, Holloway welcomes web users to transform their homepage to SPEEDRUNHOME.PAGE for deeper contemplation on how queerness is mobilized in the space of the day, for better and for worse, through a combination of poetry, images, and audio testimonials that take a new shape every day. The sprite who persistently climbs up and down a ladder in this ever-changing online environment not only confronts the trope of the girl in the tower but asks viewers to consider the embodied relationship that emerges from pursuing desire. “
Leslie Lohman Museum of Art; New York, New York
SOMEBODY'S MIDNIGHT is an interactive, open love letter by SHAWNÉ MICHAELAIN HOLLOWAY. Only accessible between midnight and 1AM (in each viewers’ unique timezone), the text becomes a call and response, asking viewers to reflect on old connections as we long, desire, wish, and hope from our isolation. In the end, like all communications, this one breaks down quickly, forcing us to either act quickly or revisit it in order to complete the transmission.
︎︎︎DYKE EDITION (2018- )
LEAN ARTIST @ i was raised on the internet; Museum of Contemporary art Chicago; Chicago, IL
“Created for Lean Artist by SHAWNÉ MICHAELAIN HOLLOWAY and exhibited for the MCA Chicago's exhibition I was Raised on the Internet, STRAPP is the modern, no fuss strap-on harness with a secure, shape affirming style. Visit strapp.shop for more.”
About Lean Artist : “Founded in 2016, Lean Artist is the world's first startup accelerator designed exclusively for artists. Participants receive funding and expert mentorship in startup methods to help conceive of real startups that earn actual revenue but also act as subversive, critical artworks.” By Jeremy Bailey.
About Lean Artist : “Founded in 2016, Lean Artist is the world's first startup accelerator designed exclusively for artists. Participants receive funding and expert mentorship in startup methods to help conceive of real startups that earn actual revenue but also act as subversive, critical artworks.” By Jeremy Bailey.
Cute lil’ filter to honor elder dykes TODAY! A cute face card roulette featuring Janelle, Guinan, Gail, Audre, Pat, Whitney, Nicey, and more.
In-App Filter available
++ Source files available for download.
*About PAC BEAUTY : “Filter dysmorphia refers to feeling shame after using Augmented Reality(AR) filters. So many have sought plastic surgery that social media companies have banned these effects. But bans fail to address social forces that create normative desires and they uphold conservatism that discourages innovation that may enhance contra-normative confidence. PAC believes everyone should have access to an AR fantasy version of themselves, and if they need it, the support and health resources to live confidently in reality too. PAC was created by Famous New Media Artist Jeremy Bailey in collaboration with Heran Genene with support from the Goethe Institut and Rosy DX for their Jemand Society initiative.”
In-App Filter available
++ Source files available for download.
*About PAC BEAUTY : “Filter dysmorphia refers to feeling shame after using Augmented Reality(AR) filters. So many have sought plastic surgery that social media companies have banned these effects. But bans fail to address social forces that create normative desires and they uphold conservatism that discourages innovation that may enhance contra-normative confidence. PAC believes everyone should have access to an AR fantasy version of themselves, and if they need it, the support and health resources to live confidently in reality too. PAC was created by Famous New Media Artist Jeremy Bailey in collaboration with Heran Genene with support from the Goethe Institut and Rosy DX for their Jemand Society initiative.”
Robert Indiana’s LOVE but gay and by a real life Indiana dyke.
* About youar.shop : Founded by Famous New Media Artist Jeremy Bailey︎︎︎, The Museum for You is an ecommerce platform that sells Augmented Reality(AR) sculpture by artists directly to consumers. It eliminates the arduous limitations of traditional sculpture for both artists and collectors.
* About youar.shop : Founded by Famous New Media Artist Jeremy Bailey︎︎︎, The Museum for You is an ecommerce platform that sells Augmented Reality(AR) sculpture by artists directly to consumers. It eliminates the arduous limitations of traditional sculpture for both artists and collectors.
Clinic for Open Source Arts; University of Denver
“COSA Connectors is a series of videos which premiered at Ars Electronica Festival 2020 exploring and showcasing the many free/Libre open source tools (FLOSS) used by artists and other creatives. Each 2-3 minute video takes a quick look at a tool, sharing what it can do and talking about who might find it useful. The particular tools are curated and toured by an energetic group of people (Connectors) working in the digital field and will span many different practices.
“
Paddles;
New York, New York
New York, New York
a:active, a:hover { or position: unavoidable; pays homage to the continuous screening of porn clips inside sex-focused nightclubs. Looming overhead in open areas of the bar, several monitors often function as fixed gazing points in lieu of access to smartphones. The on-screen content mirrors the chosen theme of the night in silent acknowledgement of the bodies in the space. To see representation of one’s self, or one’s desired self, on screen suggests that the performance of sexuality is accepted and that living the viewer’s fantasies is both tangible and encouraged. Even without paying direct attention to these films, they linger peripherally, silently impacting the ambient pulse of the space.
2017
SUB NOT SLAVE︎︎︎
SUB NOT SLAVE︎︎︎
Sorbus Galleria; Helsinki, Finland
SUB NOT SLAVE is a multimedia installation that forces a viewer to look down. Through a creative re-staging of a sex club bathroom, the work heavy handedly presents an examination of power. Serving as a kind of interrogation booth, the work turns into a structure that simultaneously asks, “What turns you on?” and “What do you think is dirty?” The definition of this uncleanliness can fluctuate between its literal meaning to “forbidden,” “uncouth,” and even “lesser than.”
Upon entering the space, a viewer is invited to stand over a toilet with both feet inside a guideline. Looking down, a video plays; placed where one would typically urinate and defecate, it is meant to remind the viewer of their role as dominant and judgement-maker on bodies or voices inside of the screen. In the footage, self-shot pornography plays in a loop. Intertwined with a list of yes or no questions. Viewers are asked to respond to aloud.
The exhibition title SUB NOT SLAVE reinforces submission as an active gesture that is offered in exchange for something rather than something that is owed. By following the artist’s carefully arranged choreography of viewership, she engages audiences in an embodied act of play. From across the room, another work presents the artist sitting in her own bathroom stall, overseeing a circuitous objectification.
Upon entering the space, a viewer is invited to stand over a toilet with both feet inside a guideline. Looking down, a video plays; placed where one would typically urinate and defecate, it is meant to remind the viewer of their role as dominant and judgement-maker on bodies or voices inside of the screen. In the footage, self-shot pornography plays in a loop. Intertwined with a list of yes or no questions. Viewers are asked to respond to aloud.
The exhibition title SUB NOT SLAVE reinforces submission as an active gesture that is offered in exchange for something rather than something that is owed. By following the artist’s carefully arranged choreography of viewership, she engages audiences in an embodied act of play. From across the room, another work presents the artist sitting in her own bathroom stall, overseeing a circuitous objectification.
BOYFRIENDS Chicago
DAUGHTER OF THE CAGE presents power on a spectrum, represented by a gradient from black to white. These colors are not arbitrary. If power dynamics can be mapped through “grey areas,” the potential for binary inversion is always already possible from either end of the spectrum, from inside or outside of the cage. The imagery appropriated for the production of this series is drawn from silent films created by Oscar Micheaux in the 1920s.
︎︎︎EXTREME SUBMISSION︎︎︎ (2016)
2016
EXTREME SUBMISSION (SCREENING)︎︎︎
EXTREME SUBMISSION (SCREENING)︎︎︎
The Gene Siskle Film Center / The School of the Art Institute of Chicago; Chicago, IL
“Paris-based dirty new media performance artist shawné michaelain holloway has established herself as one of the most significant voices online. Her rhizomatic projects explore intimacy, power dynamics, and the technologies that mediate them, taking shape as serialized live Internet broadcasts, video art uploaded to pornographic platforms, GIFs, and electronic music. She returns to Chicago to debut a series of works that examines the role and socio-political implications of video and text (or “slow-media”) in meaningful intimate encounters, self-care, and instruction-based performance.”
Conversations at the Edge
Conversations at the Edge
2016
EXTREME SUBMISSION : ENTRY TOOLS I & II
EXTREME SUBMISSION : ENTRY TOOLS I & II
Gallerie Lafayette Anticipation;
Paris, FR
Paris, FR
ENTRY TOOLS I & II is an installation highlighting the similarities between tactical and sexual fetish aesthetics and asks how much violence is present in sensuality? How much sensuality is present in violence? Can we crave a balance in both? Do we crave a risk of both?
2015?
UNDELIVERED︎︎︎
UNDELIVERED︎︎︎
left.gallery;
berlin, DE
berlin, DE
clips from personal messages, of which none ever reached and will ever reach the intended recipient, literally or intellectually. snippets of an attempt to comm
2012-2020
A PERSONAL PROJECT︎︎︎
A PERSONAL PROJECT︎︎︎
Various; Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art; Hunter Galleries; Single Channel; Yale School of Art; The New Museum; Rhizome.org, and more.
“In a personal project (2012–), which was included in the exhibition “On Our Backs: The Revolutionary Art of Queer Sex Work” at New York’s Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art last winter, Holloway edited videos and photographs she originally made for the amateur porn website Xtube into a glitchy, but not illegible video. On her website, she describes her timeon Xtube as part of a social experiment, an investigation into power dynamics. She writes, “I use these people online just as much as they’re using me,” highlighting how sex can often be transactional even when no money is exchanged.”
— via Tiana Ried, “The Promiscuity of Power: Shawné Michaelain Holloway” for Art in America (2020)︎︎︎
— via Tiana Ried, “The Promiscuity of Power: Shawné Michaelain Holloway” for Art in America (2020)︎︎︎
