​Below That Bridge, Behind the Bushes

In Queers in Space: Communities, Public places, and Sites of Resistance (1997), Gordon Brent Ingram noted that “gay men sometimes choose to make contact in outdoor sites as part of a complex response to and appropriation of the patriarchal dynamics of the gaze and spectacle.” Drawing on observations of outdoor cruising sites as part of a complex response to and appropriation of the patriarchal dynamics of gaze and spectacle, Khairullah Rahim explores intimate notions that linger within these proscribed spaces. Presenting a series of paintings and manipulated found objects, the artist’s attention to the architectural landscape and multifaceted function of such spaces sets the backdrop for fictionalised narratives of eroticism, sensuality, and life present within these alternative terrains.