QueerQuest #1

Google Street View: https://maps.app.goo.gl/Ea7LoisFxz69icTA7

Geocache code: GCBD869

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The Gawain poem begins in Arthur’s court. Bustling and bright, the court represents a ‘known’ world of rigid order, reputation, and expected roles – often defining masculinity and desire in narrow ways.

As you begin this Queer Quest, consider: What aspects of urban or societal norms might feel to you like a performance? What do you hope to shed or discover as you move into the wilder spaces ahead?

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Artist statement: Drawing on a story of lived-experience, this piece considers the fragmented and fractured self, where we are forced to live lives that fail to be authentic or true to oneself.

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A visitor to our stall at Moorlands Pride told us that Knypersley Pool is a place that he often walked to contemplate life, including when he was a younger person and was figuring out his identity. It’s always felt, to him, a place to escape. We chose this location because it exists right on the edge of the urban environment, much like the beginning of Gawain’s journey – he begins in Arthur’s court, but feels this calling to rise to a challenge which requires self reflection. Knypersley pool, a natural spot on the edge of the ex-mining community of Biddulph and the industrial reaches of Stoke-on-Trent, is symbolic of this duality.

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“We just didn’t talk about it. In fact you didn’t talk about anything that was emotional”

“I was always out to myself, but the thing is, that to have a successful career, you had to live a double life…”