In less than one generation, when you try to explain to a young person about the concept of Blockbuster Video it will be so removed from their own all-streaming, all-dancing, all-the-time reality that it just won’t make sense. They’ll smile, they’ll nod, but it won’t make sense to them.
And in every way that is more important and more relevant and frankly more fun than family arguments over popcorn and which Fast & the Furious to rent, sex, sexual identity and our approach to both, have that same potential for Gen Zers.
Along with, (arguably) veganism and our understanding of mental health, how we think about and talk about sexuality and gender in ten-to-fifteen years’ time could be so drastically different as to leave a whole generation of middle-aged Millennials saying things like “we used to call them ‘bi-curious’, but I don’t suppose you can say that any more” as their teenage kids roll their eyes.
From consent culture to sex-positivity on social feeds, art and artists are unsurprisingly shaping this brave new world.
Rosie Clarke, aka Rosie Glow, is a craft artist in Hereford. Her collection of ceramic badges on Etsy preach winking self-love mantras – they also include hand-painted buttplugs and rainbow dildos. Her website quotes Picasso on the subject. “Sex and art,” said the moustachio’d Spaniard. “Are the same thing”.
In craft – and in her own work with silicon and plaster and leather – bringing erotic art in to a more mainstream space is a way of opening up people to talk about sex, sexuality and consent “outside of the bedroom or the pub”.
Just last week the leader of the House of Commons questioned what age it was appropriate for children to be ‘exposed to’ LGBT education. Exposed. To. It makes sense then that the only logical response is for artists like Rosie is to make things that reclaim sex from the politicians, and return it to the personal.
And her work does feel personal. The badges especially feel like they were made for you, whoever you are, wherever you are, whether you like ballgags or Blockbuster Videos.
Rosie’s been documenting her life as a maker on her Instagram feed (here, check it out), but we wanted to talk in depth with her about sex, art and getting Donald Trump to wear a ‘Clit love’ badge.
For an artist who’s engaging with online culture through your Insta – how true is that The Internet is far more open and accepting and just generally chill with ideas around sex positivity and queer culture, and The Real World is massively playing catch up?
I think that in this era and especially in rural areas like Hereford, social media sites like Insta and online marketplaces like etsy can massively improve your chances of finding people who connect with your work.
As someone who’s tackling some more risqué topics and exploring more sexual themes I’ve found that there is a really strong community online of likeminded artists and makers looking at similar ideas.
The younger generations definitely have a stronger presence on social media which can skew the statistics a bit, with around 52% of my viewers being 18-24 so it’s often difficult to gauge how the older generations might react to the pieces I’m making.
However I’ve found that people online can be really responsive to my work, especially when I ask for opinions about new projects and it’s good to have that level of interaction with followers.
I think the rest of the world and wider generations catching up may take a little longer, especially in the world of politics but I really believe that my generation have a responsibility to try and educate other age groups on the issues around sex, sexuality and gender that are coming into social awareness in recent years and social media may be one of the tools that can help that happen.
Which badges sell better for you: ballgags or buttplugs?
I’ve found that the buttplugs have sold better so far, I think because they have a more immediate shock value for most people and people really like the rainbows!
A more open approach to sex, sexuality, gender and consent is arguably the issue that defines Gen Z, in terms of the biggest shift away from previous generations’ identities – how do you tell that story through craft? And what does this conversation look like in 20 years?
I reckon especially as Gen Z gets older and more educated these issues are only going to grow in terms of how much they’re explored in the media and how much they feature in our society’s art and craft scene.
Young people these days have a much wider awareness of political issues through social media and more accessible internet so I expect that as they develop further we’ll see a real increase in the inclusion of these topics in craft.
I think that craft is definitely starting to explore some of these thought processes, and with the relatively recent resurgence in ‘handmade’ culture I think we’re going to be seeing many more makers beginning to explore social issues as we go forwards in the next few years.
There are already plenty of makers out there creating fabulous sex toys and bondage equipment however they tend not to be spotlighted in the art world as the things they sell are often seen as too functional to be included in the artistic conversation which definitely influences the discussions around high end craft.
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What was the first piece you made when you sat down and said ‘okay I’m going to make a spiked, ceramic breast, or a set of bondage cuffs’?
I think for me that need to create has been there since I was really small, I come from a creative family so it was kind of second nature to want to make things. I remember getting so frustrated when I was younger that I couldn’t use the materials I wanted to because they were “too messy”!
I think my tendency to explore sexual themes in my work came from my personal interest in confronting issues around consent and bodily autonomy, and I really hope I can continue to explore the social attitudes towards the right to touch and the impact this has on individual’s attitudes towards their bodies.
Who would you most like to see wearing one of your badges – and who most needs one?
I think seeing anyone who is in the process of exploring their own identity or anyone who wants to express their sexuality wearing one of my badges would be amazing. Maybe one day I’ll get Donald Trump wearing a Clit Love badge but for now seeing anyone wearing one of my creations is so pretty great.
I’m not sure anyone needs ceramic butt plug badges if I’m being pragmatic, but I suppose anyone who is maybe struggling with their sexuality could enjoy the experience of being able to wear something that could possibly help them to feel like they had more of a sense of identity.
In your work, and in work from artists like Jeffrey Cheung, there seems to be this smiling reclamation of iconography. How important is it to bring sex – and by that I mean all kinds of sex – (back) in to the mainstream in this country?
I think that reclaiming sexual iconography is hugely important to the growth of consent culture, the thing that I think people tend to forget is that it’s not just sex that’s the problem, it’s not a lack of understanding about sex that leads people to having terrible sex lives, it’s a misunderstanding of the expectations surrounding sex, body confidence issues, gender imbalances and a lack of education about how to have healthy discussions around sex.
I can’t count how many people I know who don’t talk about sex in any constructive way to their partners. People aren’t being taught how to talk about what they want and what they’re comfortable with because sex is still seen as something that shouldn’t be discussed outside of the bedroom or the pub.
Bringing sex back into the mainstream, especially within the craft movement, doesn’t just mean having people that are making purely sexual objects, it’s people like elizahopewellplates, potyertitsawayluv and NienkeHelder who are opening up the conversation surrounding consent, sex and sexuality.
For you personally, was there a moment where some kind of art (film, music, art-art, whatever) helped open you up to your own sexuality?
Definitely! The writing of Clarissa Pinkola Estés helped me a lot when I was younger within coming to terms with my gender and definitely aided me in dealing with a lot of the archetypal issues that women face. As far as films go there were too many to remember, however I think watching Blue is the Warmest Colour when I was about 16 was definitely a turning point in my acceptance of my own status as a bisexual woman. When I was younger, maybe 11 or so, films like thirteen and Heathers definitely helped me to work out my direction as well.
Weirdly I also remember listening to the Arctic monkeys as being a real source of self-acceptance, when I was 15/16 I thought they were so hot, like their music just dripped sex and I think that kind of gave me a sense of power over who I was going to be when I was starting to get into the gnarly parts of puberty.
If Herefordshire Council commissioned you to do a sex-positive piece/installation/project to open up some hearts and minds (even if it meant a few OAPs spitting out their brews), what would you do?
I think I would honestly want to create something exploring consent and personal space for children, people think sex and body positive education has to be withheld until kids are old enough for it to be appropriate but that completely disregards the fact that a lot of the problems that adults face in sex are more to do with their attitudes towards respect and consent and these are totally qualities that we can foster in the younger generations.
I really believe that if we’re going to raise individuals who are going to have a good understanding of consent and respect around sex we really need to change the way we treat our children and we need to start accepting people’s bodily autonomy at a younger age as children who respect themselves are far more likely to respect others when they grow up.
Historically, queer culture - and the art scene that often reflected it - has been responsible for so many things that later became a massive part of mainstream culture (from house music to hook-up apps). What’s the one taboo/ thing people giggle at now, that will be everywhere in five/ten years’ time?
I think that gender-queer and gender- fluid fashion is definitely going to be a big thing, with icons such as Ezra Miller, Jaden Smith and Olly Alexander from Years and Years embracing gender defying looks in recent months. Society as a whole seems to be loosening the rules around how people are performing their genders and I’m really excited to see the ways that this could end up changing the face of fashion design, sex toy design and possibly craft as well.
Working in craft, there’s something about the textures you can work with that gives your pieces a whole other tactile dimension compared to, for example, illustrations on the similar subject matter – how much do you enjoy working across different materials?
I adore working in different materials, while I’m predominantly a ceramic artist I don’t like to limit my work by giving myself too many set parameters. I think it’s important to choose the material that’s going to communicate what you want to say the most effectively instead of just sticking to what you know.
I am really excited about the future possibilities for working in textiles especially, as you can get such a range of surfaces and they tend to be textures that people are drawn to touch which is very helpful for some of the pieces I have planned.
Find out more about Rosie Glows on her site here, or head to Etsy here to buy her badges.