Christian Walker: The Profane and the Poignant

Christian Walker: The Profane and the Poignant is the first museum exhibition surveying the work of artist, critic, and curator Christian Walker (1953-2003). Active in Boston and Atlanta from the mid-1970s to the mid-1990s, Walker was a pathmaking Black, gay photographer who made compelling and experimental work about queer sexuality, race, and their intersections. In the mid-1980s, his artistic practice shifted from documentary photography and portraiture toward alternative photographic processes of multiple exposure, archival appropriation, and integration of paints and non-traditional materials. Walker’s artworks, criticism, and exhibition-making addressed myriad subjects, including queer public sex, interracial desire, HIV/AIDS, censorship, drug use, and Blackness and whiteness in public and private image cultures. By contextualizing Walker within his artistic and activist communities in Boston and Atlanta, this exhibition situates his photographs, critical writings, and curatorial projects as vital contributions to the histories of art and photography.

Christian Walker: The Profane and the Poignant is curated by Jackson Davidow and Noam Parness. The exhibition will travel to Tufts University Art Galleries from January 25-April 21, 2024.