Michael by Forest Kelley

Issue 141

Michael imagines the history of gay men living in rural New England during the onset of AIDS. It centers on the story of Kelley’s uncle Michael, who was found dead shortly after the first test for HIV antibody was licensed in the United States.

In this work, Kelley reenacts known events and memories, reconstructs shared histories, and speculates on experiences Michael might have had. The project incorporates and interprets Michael’s ephemera—the things he left behind when he died—and his own 8mm filmstrips. Using Michael’s possessions and artwork allows Kelley to materialize him, and lets him speak for himself, grounding Kelley’s imagined images. Part documentary, this work seeks answers, but its preoccupation is with the unknowable, with visualizing the hopes and fears that continue to resonate within our family and community.

LGBTQ histories are often forgotten, if not actively erased. Kelley’s work reclaims one of those stories, helping to frame an otherwise outcast history. Quieted and forgotten histories become exiled truths. This work is an attempt to resurrect one of those stories.

Forest Kelley lives and works in Lexington, Kentucky.
To view more work, please visit www.forestkelley.net or follow @forest_kelley