Jeremy Atherton LinÌýexploresÌýqueerÌýidentitiesÌýthroughÌýmanufacturedÌýobjects andÌýthe built environment.ÌýWorkingÌýfrom the idea that identity is not only inscribed on our bodies, but articulated through ³Ù³ó±ðÌýplaces we inhabit, his bookÌýGay Bar: Why We Went OutÌýlooks back onÌývenuesÌýwhereÌýhe’s hung out himselfÌýtoÌýconsider the boundaries of a fixed identity, exclusion within a subculture, the paradox of community within a commercial sphere, andÌýthe tension between visibility and secrecy. Seeking a lineage of gay cultureÌýwhileÌýalert to the ahistoricism this quest oftenÌýelicits,Ìýthe authorÌýdetailsÌýhisÌýown experiences, but alsoÌýtraces back to 1970sÌýHollywoodÌýdiscos andÌýearlier stillÌýtoÌýcruising tunnels builtÌýbeneath LondonÌýin the 1770s.ÌýEach site reveals itself as aÌýpalimpsest of queerÌýrumours andÌýsuggestions.ÌýThrough toponomy, legal opinions, police reportsÌýandÌýlisting applications, as well as discursive forays into literature and pop culture, the bookÌýexcavatesÌýthese sitesÌýto use asÌýcase studiesÌýintoÌýthe various ways thatÌýgay populations have played complex roles in transforming theÌýurban landscape.ÌýThis lectureÌýexaminesÌýbuildingsÌýdrawn from the bookÌýto delineate ³Ù³ó±ðÌýresearch methodologies used inÌýsuch aÌýsubjective archaeology.ÌýÌý
Jeremy Atherton LinÌýis an American essayist based in London. He studied playwriting atÌýthe University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)ÌýandÌýworked as an editor beforeÌýestablishingÌýhisÌýidiolect throughÌýobservational writings in blogs and zines.ÌýHe received the MA inÌýWritingÌýfromÌýthe Royal College of ArtÌý(RCA), whereÌýhis final projectÌýconsideredÌýtheÌýappropriatedÌýworkwear garment as reification ofÌýshiftingÌýpost-industrial economies,ÌýandÌýin particularÌý³Ù³ó±ðÌýrole ofÌýqueerÌýfetishizationÌýin thatÌýtrajectory.ÌýHis focusÌýhas sinceÌýevolved intoÌýan ongoingÌýexplorationÌýof theÌýbind between place and identity.Ìý´³±ð°ù±ð³¾²â’sÌýdebutÌýbookÌýGay Bar: Why We Went OutÌý(2021),Ìýpublished by Little, Brown in North America andÌýGrantaÌýin the UK,ÌýpositionsÌýmemoirÌýwithin gay-male-centred commercial spacesÌýand urban enclaves. Jeremy is Associate Editor atÌýthe journalÌýFailed States,ÌýwhichÌýproducedÌý‘A Map to Fall Through,’Ìýa programme on place and identity, in London in 2019.ÌýHeÌýhas lectured at Central Saint Martins, Camberwell College of Arts and the Royal College of Art. His work has been published byÌýThe White Review,ÌýArtReview, Index, Noon,ÌýDirty Furniture,ÌýTinted WindowÌýand ³Ù³ó±ðÌýTimes Literary Supplement.ÌýÌý
Organised by Dr Robin Schuldenfrei (The Courtauld) and Dr Tom Wilkinson (The Courtauld)Ìý