Gwendolyn Anne Davies
West Texas is known for its open skies, oil, and harsh environment. As a desert climate, the very earth itself seems to oppress the emergence of new growth. Yet even in the harshest of environments nature pushes through, unapologetically adapting itself to survival and fulfillment.
In the midst of the inhospitable and oppressive socio-political atmosphere, reflective of the very climate itself, existing as anything other than the status quo is a struggle. Yet even as the mesquite and yucca adapt, we have found the nutrients that we need for our own personal growth within the community, relationships, and friendships even in this most unlikely of places.
Photographer Gwendolyn Davies and poet Clint Wilson work together to highlight how the natural environment of West Texas reflects the experience of their emerging queer, nonbinary identities in an equally inhospitable politically and socially conservative part of the world. Against all odds, they have both separately and together found a thriving community and network of support that has fueled their journeys of becoming their authentic selves.
These images and poems narrate their lives in West Texas; from struggling through issues of self-worth through relationships and therapy, to reconciling their identities with their faith and religion in an affirming church, to creating a family in which “Uncle” Gwen is an integral figure in the daily lives of Clint and their husband’s three children. Through the struggles, we see the beauty in shared love and a glorious horizon stretching before us with infinite hope and possibility.
Contact Traces, is a collection of daily lumen prints made in the window every morning and removing it each evening. Each image becomes a direct trace of the day that has passed. I believe they reflect how the current social-political-health environment we find ourselves in is creating a permanent imprint on our identities and understanding of our world. Each is unique and has an element of daily routine while also reflecting the instability and lack of control inherent to the process. While I originally set out to track time this project has naturally developed in phases that seem to reflect the progress of living through this pandemic. As a living, growing project I intend to continue to allow it to develop as time progresses. I believe that Contact Traces will eventually be fully realized with audio-visual multimedia components and written reflections alongside the visual images to create a full sensory experience.
Photos by Gwendolyn Davies
Poems by Clint Wilson