Welcome to our online gallery
Each show below is specially curated for online viewing by guest curators. Click on products for more information and to purchase. Guest curators receive a portion of sales.
Monsters & Other Alluring Creatures
Curator: Sage Walters
Show Statement:
When I watch horror movies, I never find myself rooting for the Final Girls or the white, suburban teenagers being hacked to death; I want the monster to win. Monsters have always been used as stand-ins for various social boogeymen: King Kong was a metaphor for the supposed predation of white women by Black men, trans women in horror movies were used to reinforce the trans panic defense, and mentally ill characters, like Michael Myers from Halloween, have been scapegoated as dangerous. In actuality, neurodiverse folx are far more likely to be victims of violent crimes. It makes sense that marginalized people find themselves in these stories and relate to them on a deeper level; these stories are about us. We can relate to the ostracization and loneliness, the repression and the longing for acceptance and love. Recently, Guillermo del Toro directed the Oscar-winning film, The Shape of Water, because he felt more kinship with the Gill Man from Creature From The Black Lagoon, than the handsome hero and wanted to “correct” the story. This collection is an attempt to “correct” those stories.
The art that I’ve chosen as part of this collection features various famous monsters, as well as written works that features stories which use metaphors of monstrousness or horror to convey their messages. I encourage you to ponder these questions when interacting with the art: What does it look like to apply an informed and critical analysis to the horror monsters we have been afraid of? How can we take the meaning away from what was once oppressive and reclaim these characters as altogether more powerful and radical than we ever hoped they could be?
This body of work is ongoing and I plan on contributing more work as quarantine continues, so make sure to watch out on social media for news. I look forward to updating this page while I’m quarantined at home, I hope you, the reader, can find nourishment from this art, too.
Show Statement:
When I watch horror movies, I never find myself rooting for the Final Girls or the white, suburban teenagers being hacked to death; I want the monster to win. Monsters have always been used as stand-ins for various social boogeymen: King Kong was a metaphor for the supposed predation of white women by Black men, trans women in horror movies were used to reinforce the trans panic defense, and mentally ill characters, like Michael Myers from Halloween, have been scapegoated as dangerous. In actuality, neurodiverse folx are far more likely to be victims of violent crimes. It makes sense that marginalized people find themselves in these stories and relate to them on a deeper level; these stories are about us. We can relate to the ostracization and loneliness, the repression and the longing for acceptance and love. Recently, Guillermo del Toro directed the Oscar-winning film, The Shape of Water, because he felt more kinship with the Gill Man from Creature From The Black Lagoon, than the handsome hero and wanted to “correct” the story. This collection is an attempt to “correct” those stories.
The art that I’ve chosen as part of this collection features various famous monsters, as well as written works that features stories which use metaphors of monstrousness or horror to convey their messages. I encourage you to ponder these questions when interacting with the art: What does it look like to apply an informed and critical analysis to the horror monsters we have been afraid of? How can we take the meaning away from what was once oppressive and reclaim these characters as altogether more powerful and radical than we ever hoped they could be?
This body of work is ongoing and I plan on contributing more work as quarantine continues, so make sure to watch out on social media for news. I look forward to updating this page while I’m quarantined at home, I hope you, the reader, can find nourishment from this art, too.
Click on an item to learn more or to purchase.
He Has His Father's Eyes
$25.00
Artist Statement on work:
One of the strangest parts of the 1968 movie, Rosemary’s Baby, is that it was directed by notorious creep, Roman Polanski. That such an astute, sharp analysis of marital abuse, the culture clash of traditional gender roles versus the growing second-wave feminist movement, pregnancy body-horror, and medical gaslighting was created by such an infamous misogynist makes this movie so much sweeter. In the final scene, Rosemary looks at her newborn child in his crib, with horror, as she realizes that “He has his father’s eyes”. She makes the choice, knife-in-hand, to either murder her satanic infant, or to succumb to an oppressive notion of motherhood. Despite her choice to embrace her baby, Rosemary exhibits fierceness in her resolve to love her child in spite of her trauma. Knowing what we do of Roman Fucking Polanski’s politics, I don’t think it’s reaching far to say that gender liberation was not on his mind when he made this movie. It gives me such deep pleasure to know that, despite all of the violence Roman Polanski has created, that this movie’s legacy is about the importance of choice.
Artist: Sage Walters
9x12 print
One of the strangest parts of the 1968 movie, Rosemary’s Baby, is that it was directed by notorious creep, Roman Polanski. That such an astute, sharp analysis of marital abuse, the culture clash of traditional gender roles versus the growing second-wave feminist movement, pregnancy body-horror, and medical gaslighting was created by such an infamous misogynist makes this movie so much sweeter. In the final scene, Rosemary looks at her newborn child in his crib, with horror, as she realizes that “He has his father’s eyes”. She makes the choice, knife-in-hand, to either murder her satanic infant, or to succumb to an oppressive notion of motherhood. Despite her choice to embrace her baby, Rosemary exhibits fierceness in her resolve to love her child in spite of her trauma. Knowing what we do of Roman Fucking Polanski’s politics, I don’t think it’s reaching far to say that gender liberation was not on his mind when he made this movie. It gives me such deep pleasure to know that, despite all of the violence Roman Polanski has created, that this movie’s legacy is about the importance of choice.
Artist: Sage Walters
9x12 print
Eve Was Weak
$25.00
Artist's statement on work:
“And God made Eve from the rib of Adam. And Eve was weak and loosed the raven on the world and the raven was called sin...And the first sin was intercourse. And Eve was weak. And the lord visited Eve with a curse. And the curse was the curse of blood.” -Carrie, 1976
Brian de Palma’s adaptation of Stephen King’s Carrie is commonly cited as an example of the “monstrous feminine”. In conjunction with the gratuitous shower shots of teenage girls, it's not difficult to see the misogyny dripping from this movie. But I have always viewed the main villain of Carrie as misogyny itself, stemming from religious fundamentalism and internalized oppression. Due to her Mother’s religious beliefs, Carrie was never told how her body works. Carrie reacts with horror at the blood running out of her vagina, but is met with disgust from the other teenage girls when she begs for help; periods are to be hidden and not spoken of. Carrie’s period marks the arrival of her telekinetic abilities, connecting her femininity* with power. Obviously, periods are not the only marker of femininity, but it was the 1970s and feminism was all about biological essentialism. In the climactic scene where the bucket of pig’s blood is dumped over her head, again, Carrie’s bloody shame is on display for the whole school. Her powers explode in a shower of fire, previously suppressed, now fully visible in an uncontrollable anger. Carrie’s abuse gaslights her into believing she is powerless, until her abusers are forced to contend with the full forces of her rage.
Artist: Sage Walters
9x12 Print
“And God made Eve from the rib of Adam. And Eve was weak and loosed the raven on the world and the raven was called sin...And the first sin was intercourse. And Eve was weak. And the lord visited Eve with a curse. And the curse was the curse of blood.” -Carrie, 1976
Brian de Palma’s adaptation of Stephen King’s Carrie is commonly cited as an example of the “monstrous feminine”. In conjunction with the gratuitous shower shots of teenage girls, it's not difficult to see the misogyny dripping from this movie. But I have always viewed the main villain of Carrie as misogyny itself, stemming from religious fundamentalism and internalized oppression. Due to her Mother’s religious beliefs, Carrie was never told how her body works. Carrie reacts with horror at the blood running out of her vagina, but is met with disgust from the other teenage girls when she begs for help; periods are to be hidden and not spoken of. Carrie’s period marks the arrival of her telekinetic abilities, connecting her femininity* with power. Obviously, periods are not the only marker of femininity, but it was the 1970s and feminism was all about biological essentialism. In the climactic scene where the bucket of pig’s blood is dumped over her head, again, Carrie’s bloody shame is on display for the whole school. Her powers explode in a shower of fire, previously suppressed, now fully visible in an uncontrollable anger. Carrie’s abuse gaslights her into believing she is powerless, until her abusers are forced to contend with the full forces of her rage.
Artist: Sage Walters
9x12 Print
Children Of Rage
$25.00
Artist's statement on work:
There are few moments in horror that have made me as viscerally upset as the birthing scene in David Cronenberg’s The Brood (1975). The Brood is one of Cronenberg’s lesser-known movies, but, in my opinion, so much better than Videodrome (I’m not sorry, change my mind). The Brood tells the story of estranged husband and wife, Frank and Nola. The couple is in the process of an incredibly messy divorce because of Nola’s mental illness due to childhood abuse from her parents. Throughout the movie, we are only given glimpses of Nola at a psychiatric hospital as she is being treated by an experimental psychiatrist. who theorizes that trauma may be expelled through physical expressions on the body. In the climactic scene, we learn that Nola’s trauma has been transferred into an external womb which produces stunted, murderous children who are extensions of her hysterical psyche, a literal wandering womb. Nola is “cinematically skewered for having too many feelings, which turn her children into mindless killers. And, of course, she is not remorseful. She is gleeful.” (Henry, 2015). When Nola reveals her womb atop a throne-like bed, she revels in the messiness and beauty of her ability to create life. The viewer watches as Nola brings this new new being into the world in a wet, animalistic , bloody manner that leaves the audience no choice but to witness the power of her motherhood.
Artist: Sage Walters
9x12 Print
There are few moments in horror that have made me as viscerally upset as the birthing scene in David Cronenberg’s The Brood (1975). The Brood is one of Cronenberg’s lesser-known movies, but, in my opinion, so much better than Videodrome (I’m not sorry, change my mind). The Brood tells the story of estranged husband and wife, Frank and Nola. The couple is in the process of an incredibly messy divorce because of Nola’s mental illness due to childhood abuse from her parents. Throughout the movie, we are only given glimpses of Nola at a psychiatric hospital as she is being treated by an experimental psychiatrist. who theorizes that trauma may be expelled through physical expressions on the body. In the climactic scene, we learn that Nola’s trauma has been transferred into an external womb which produces stunted, murderous children who are extensions of her hysterical psyche, a literal wandering womb. Nola is “cinematically skewered for having too many feelings, which turn her children into mindless killers. And, of course, she is not remorseful. She is gleeful.” (Henry, 2015). When Nola reveals her womb atop a throne-like bed, she revels in the messiness and beauty of her ability to create life. The viewer watches as Nola brings this new new being into the world in a wet, animalistic , bloody manner that leaves the audience no choice but to witness the power of her motherhood.
Artist: Sage Walters
9x12 Print
Creature from The Black Lagoon print
$10.00
8 x 10 print of Creature from the Black Lagoon, full color digital print by Seth Goodkind
Demonophobiac Zine
$8.00
Corinne Halbert's comic on grief, monsters and the folks that get us through the hard times.
8.5" x 5.5", 48 pages, printed in black and teal.
8.5" x 5.5", 48 pages, printed in black and teal.
Guillermo Del Toro Patron Saint Of Monsters
$100.00
Watercolor, gouache, ink on paper in ornate gold stand-up frame. Total dimensions 12x14 inches.
Frankenstein 1818 edition, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
$14.99
Reprint of Mary Shelley's original 1818 publication of Frankenstein, featuring illustrations by Bookseller-artists from the Seattle area.
Some Strange Disturbances
$9.99
A spiritualist with a secret to hide. A choral performer who can't fit in. A comtesse trapped against her will and in her own body. London, 1895. While Oscar Wilde is on trial for criminal homosexuality, the city teeters on the madness of a new century. Its evils will bring these three together to fight against the impending darkness, both personal and phantasmagorical, that threatens to consume them all.
Written by Craig Hurd-McKenney
Art by Gervasio and Carlos Aon
Cover by Tyler Smith OwensLayout and additional designs by Keeli McCarthy
Genres: Drama, Graphic Novels, Historical, Horror, Supernatural/Occult, LGBTQ
Written by Craig Hurd-McKenney
Art by Gervasio and Carlos Aon
Cover by Tyler Smith OwensLayout and additional designs by Keeli McCarthy
Genres: Drama, Graphic Novels, Historical, Horror, Supernatural/Occult, LGBTQ
Satanic Feminism Book
$6.66
Satanic Feminism + the Witchcraft of Fem Resistance
This zine is all about viewing Satanism through a political lens. Both Satanism and Witchcraft are often misunderstood to be dark and evil forces. That or cults, cauldrons, and curses. But, in reality, it's about using the power within yourself to challenge what is wrong in the world through everyday acts of rebellion. To most Satanists, including myself, Satanism is atheistic and more of a political standpoint than a religious view. Rather than worshiping the guy that tried to swindle Eve out of knowledge and free will back in Genesis, this zine (and overall Satanism) focuses on worshiping thyself and taking note from the serpent that just ended up dealing with a whole lot of slander. This zine explores ways to actively hex racist, sexism, capitalism, transphobia and the binary. And, no, you don't need to sell your soul.
B&W, 28 pages, 8.5″ x 5.5″, saddle-stitched
by S. Katz from Silver Sprocket
This zine is all about viewing Satanism through a political lens. Both Satanism and Witchcraft are often misunderstood to be dark and evil forces. That or cults, cauldrons, and curses. But, in reality, it's about using the power within yourself to challenge what is wrong in the world through everyday acts of rebellion. To most Satanists, including myself, Satanism is atheistic and more of a political standpoint than a religious view. Rather than worshiping the guy that tried to swindle Eve out of knowledge and free will back in Genesis, this zine (and overall Satanism) focuses on worshiping thyself and taking note from the serpent that just ended up dealing with a whole lot of slander. This zine explores ways to actively hex racist, sexism, capitalism, transphobia and the binary. And, no, you don't need to sell your soul.
B&W, 28 pages, 8.5″ x 5.5″, saddle-stitched
by S. Katz from Silver Sprocket
Love Me (Original)
$75.00
The Love Witch, directed, costume-designed, set-designed, scored, written, and edited by Anna Biller, is a film that was created to cater to “[femmes’] visual pleasure” and scare toxic, hypermasculinity (Biller 2016). Every bit of the movie is impeccably curated to entice feminine viewers, with its aggressively witchy, frilly, pink, gothic horror aesthetic, while alienating those who are only unable to identify with femininity. Like the set, The Love Witch’s main character, Elaine, is equally as obssessed with portraying a perfectly contructed persona of idealized cisgender womanhood, complete with “layers of makeup, lashes, fetish lingerie, a wig, and Victoria costumes--all of which she hides behind and uses as a weapon” to manipulate men. The movie’s plot focuses on Elaine’s desperation to fulfill her emotional neeeds by trying to find the ultimate heterosexual love fantasy with the “perfect man”. Of course, the men in her life are doomed to fail her expectations due to their socialized toxic masculinity which leads to a murderous, self-fulfilling cycle. However, Elaine is not at fault. Instead, we must place the blame on gender and the way its arbitrary divisiness has robbed all of us of satisfying relationships. 9"x12" mixed media. (art by Sage Walters)
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I'm Sage.
They/them/theirs. In 2018, I graduated from Lewis & Clark College in Portland, OR with a B.A. in Sociology & Anthropology, and a Double-Minor in Ethnic & Gender Studies. Right now, I live with my beautiful hairless gremlin cat, Mikey, and my amazing partner in an apartment without a kitchen in so-called Seattle, Washington. I'm a white, trans, nonbinary, queer crazy crip (I'm disabled) living on un-ceded Duwamish land. I want to live in a world where we truly care for and hold one another by creating accessible, anti-racist, anti-capitalist, queer futures. |
I'm currently a member of indie comics and art gallery, Push/Pull, where I co-organized Queer Press Fest 2019. My work is mostly autobiographical, focusing on intersections of disability, gender, and childhood trauma. Currently, I'm working on a book called Freaks about disability-representation in horror movies. You can find my artwork on instagram, @sage_leaves_art, my Facebook page, Sage Leaves, or my website: www.sage-leaves.com.
