I met Joshua at this year’s SPE National Conference in Las Vegas. It was a real pleasure to see this incredible work amongst the sea of aspiring photographers looking to be the next big thing. Joshua McDevitt is a Washington born photographer and a 2016 Master of Fine Arts candidate at The University of Iowa where he has been an instructor of record in photography for the past two years. His practice, in addition to photography, recently includes video, printmaking, sculpture, and installation. By using the creative process as a means to reflect, Joshua’s work delves into memory and various themes of identity from sexual orientation to place and the definition of home. Today we share his series, Orientation : Unsure.
Western societal mores come with expectations such as gender roles, heteronormativity, masculinity in boys, and femininity in girls. The way we think about gender has a long list of deeply embedded microaggressions: “don’t be a girl”, “man up”, “she’s a bitch”, “that’s gay”. The list goes on, including less obvious phrases and actions. What exactly do they mean? And upon reflection, how do they confuse an adolescent trying to define their gender or sexuality?
“But I’m nothing, if I can’t be me. If I can’t be true to myself, they don’t mean anything.”
Kanye West
To view more of Joshua’s work, visit his website.