Thomas Haskell

Mas'Queer'Raid

As a creolized Trinidadian subject, I navigate the tensions of my heritage and selfhood as a transgressive queer body. Through a critical engagement with ceramic sculpture I fuse the costumes and characters of Trinidadian Carnival in order to manifest tensions of power, gender, and violence through a conversationalist practice. Utilizing texts on the historical development of Carnival and Trinidad, I form a historical foundation upon which I build critical reflection into my embodied past. The resulting characters are solidified navigations of my selfhood through Carnival. I propose that each character then adds to an expanding critical reflection of Mas/Carnival in Trinidad both at home and abroad.

 2017