The title leans into Bex’s Queerness and Northern roots in challenging what being a ‘lesbian’ means in the modern day.  The works in this series document same sex fertility, representation in the Media, misconceptions and more in understanding if trying to reclaim a term that is shouted as abuse; manipulated by the male gaze; monetarised by the Porn industry and debased by TERF’s is worth reclaiming at all?

‘Hers n Hers’.   2023, 80cm x 115.5cm (each). Oil on canvas.

In this diptych of sorts Bex Massey documents her current fertility journey with partner Tanya Moulson.  The canvas are intended to be viewed independently-mimicking the separate treatments and tests each have undertaken.  As with so many singular things born out of love however, when put together they operate as a single unit in portraying their cat J-lo.

‘Hers n Hers’ document the overt beauty of their feline companion, give a wry nod to lesbian stereotypes surrounding cats and even lean into the term ‘pussy’ with the inclusion of their ovarian reserve (hormones AMH and AFC) levels in each eye.  The inverted canvas shows Bex’s fertility as she suffers from endometriosis so everything to do with her womb is upside down.

*‘Invert’ is an archaic psychological term for homosexuals.  Its definition is to ‘reverse’ or ‘put upside down’.  It is also a function in Photoshop – changing imagery to the opposite hues on the colour wheel.   Massey coded her own ‘Invert’ Instagram filter in 2022 so that viewers can interact fully with the blue veneers in her paintings whilst empathising with feelings of ‘otherness’ when camera is directed on themselves.  Please use below QR code to transform the canvas.