"inti.mate," a solo exhibition by School of Visual Arts master's student Sidney Mullis is on display through May 12 in the Wooster St. Window Gallery at the Leslie Lohman Museum in New York City. Investigating notions of gender and sexuality, the show presents performance-based videos of invented animals’ mating rituals. A reception will talk place May 5 at the museum from 6 to 8 p.m.
In the show, Mullis performs as invented animals to build a domain of alternative biology and culture. Interested in what constitutes “sexy,” Mullis’ video series stems from studying rap music and videos that instruct women how to perform their sex appeal. This media’s lyrics, which is evocative of mating rituals for contemporary culture, often directs women to “push it,” “shake it,” or “wiggle, wiggle, wiggle.”
This proposed kingdom, however, is not suggesting itself as something to be strived for. It is a visual playground to speculate boundaries of gender performance in the present and for the future.
In addition to her solo exhibition, Mullis also has work on display in the International Juried Exhibition Being Her Now: Feminine Identity in the 21st Century on display through March 26 at Salisbury University in Maryland. The exhibition investigates the role of women in the 21st century, and how we engage in historic ideas of feminism and femininity.
Next on the horizon for Mullis are group exhibitions in Chicago and Ohio. "One in Herself" is on display March 11 – April 24 at Woman Made Gallery in Chicago. Juried by Sarah Rose Sharp, who has written for Hyperallergic and Art in America, "Borders" will be on display March 4-31 at Owens Center for Fine and Performing Arts and River House Arts in Ohio.
Mullis attributes these achievements to the guidance of her School of Visual Arts (SoVA) faculty mentors. “During my time here at Penn State SoVA, my faculty has helped me greatly in shaping the conceptual and technical aspects of my work. Without them, the work would not have developed as it has and would not have gone to all these places.”
Mullis is currently pursuing her MFA with a concentration in sculpture at SoVA. She received a bachelor's degree in studio art with honors at University of Mary Washington and graduated summa cum laude. She is the recipient of the Graham Fellowship and Melchers Gray Purchase Award. Her work has been exhibited in a number of locations including Berlin and Tokyo. Recent exhibitions include a solo exhibition at Future Tenant Gallery in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and group exhibition at pehrspace in Los Angeles.