Theo White

Artist, Art Director and Fashion Stylist Theo White presents The Dolls, two newly-commissioned portraits installed on high-street billboards in partnership with BuildHollywood and Studio Voltaire. Primarily focused on photography, White’s work aims to confront and explore the intersections of his own identity as a Black Queer man. Simultaneously, he aims to subvert stereotypes around race and gender, especially against contemporary British social norms and expectations. For the second edition of the Brent Biennial, the artist has produced two intimate portraits of Black Queer friends (“sistahs”) photographed at home in Brent. Responding to the publicness of the billboard, White unapologetically captures and celebrates Black Queer friendship, desire and love in these images, offering passersby two moments that celebrate Black Queer liberation and lived experience.

The artist used the bedroom of one of the sitters to take both portraits. By inviting us into this queer home, White draws our attention to the importance of safe spaces queer people build for themselves through chosen family, particularly in places where queer and trans people of colour are less visible, or where they may be presumed not to live.

DATES AND LOCATIONS:

8 – 11 July: 14 Dudden Hill Lane, Willesden Green, NW10 2ET, Brent

11 – 17 July: Walm Lane/26 St Pauls Ave, Willesden Green, NW2 4QU, Brent

18 – 24 July: 125 Clapham High Street, SW4 7SS

25 – 31 July: 167 Clapham High Street/Gauden Road, SW4 7XA

Theo White is an Artist, Art Director, and Fashion Stylist based in London. Primarily focused on photography, his work aims to confront and explore the intersections of his own identity as a Black Queer man. Simultaneously, he aims to subvert stereotypes around race and gender; especially against contemporary British social norms and expectations. Theo has exhibited his work at Soft Opening Gallery, Now Gallery, The Tate Modern—and has been published in Dazed & Confused, Elle US and Vogue. Alongside his artistic practice, Theo is the editor and publisher of 6ft Zine, a collaborative print publication published in support of the UKQTIBIPOC community and those affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Instagram: @theowhitewine

Theo White’s billboards were commissioned as part of the Brent Biennial 2022, titled ‘In the House of my Love’. The second edition of the Biennial asked how, and why, the act of making home can be a form of resistance and survival within the context of hostile environments—including those of racism, homophobia, ableism, climate catastrophe and political austerity. The Brent Biennial 2022 was curated by Eliel Jones, in collaboration with a curatorial committee comprised of artists Adam Farah, Abbas Zahedi and Jamila Prowse. Find out more by visiting the Archive.