Mac Star McCusker: on display

art exhibitionartist focusmac mccuskercuratingceramicscontemporary ceramics

Feb 24

I have previously mentioned that the premise of this exhibition has nothing to do with me putting my own narrative into the display and that the only driving force, and in some ways the only thing linking the artists selected, is the artists’ use of ceramics as a medium to tell their own stories, to present their own views, to draw the audience into their own world. This cannot be truer than for Mac Star McCusker and their powerful and personal work.

“I am a transgender ceramic artist. While being trans is not a choice, being visible and therefore vulnerable is. I do not neatly fit into a box… preconceptions of trans and gender non-conforming persons are why I have put myself on display despite my discomfort. It has become my own mission to both educate and inform through my work.”1

McCusker’s practice has a few different branches to it. I came to their work through the very accessible, blunt and instantly understandable mugs that they make. Mugs might seem like quite innocuous objects, but we put a lot of thought into what we want our mug choice to say about us as people; whether it is which mug you take to the office, the mug you give to visitors, the mug you use most often at home. Is it a beautifully crafted mug by a studio ceramicist? Does it have your sports team’s crest on it, or cats, or a pun, or something reassuring and positive written on the side? Was it a present from someone, or a present to yourself? Given all these thought processes about almost every single interaction with a mug and other people, or just a mug and yourself, it is not surprising that artists use mugs as a canvas for presenting their stories, desires and allegiances. McCusker’s mugs are no different; their allegiances are worn on their sleeve; they confront the person sitting opposite you with bold statements and brilliantly deployed vintage found-images.

“The humour in McCusker’s work bypasses the emotional labor of understanding the linguistics of trans pronoun usage. It is relatable to its audience through the immediacy of visual comedy.”2

Alongside being a talented potter, McCusker is a skilled sculptor, producing a body of work of ceramic animal sculptures that looked at wildlife conservation early in their career. Then in 2016 came the passage of the North Carolina House Bill 2, the Public Facilities Privacy and Security Act, which requires local boards of education and public agencies to designate and require use of single sex multiple occupancy bathroom and changing facilities based on a person's biological sex, as stated on that person's birth certificate – essentially legalising discrimination against those who are gender nonconforming. McCusker’s transitioning, which coincided with the passage of this bill, pushed their work in a completely unexpected direction. McCusker’s Instagram feed, along with their Trans-Action Figures, Transition series and their T-Pots, tell their story in a refreshingly honest way.

“Traditions within ceramics reinforce the gender binary with outdated concepts of the domestic feminine and the permanent masculine... McCusker reclaims ceramics on [their] own terms, reorienting discussions to center around nonbinary narratives after exploring emotional themes of [their] artistic practice.”3

Focusing their work on gender politics and activism gives McCusker’s work, and self, an intense visibility that many artists wouldn’t be comfortable with. But, in making themselves a beacon for those who are gender nonconforming and the story of their transitioning, McCusker has also created an amazing and accessible resource for other people struggling with their own gender identity at any point in the process. A mug wittily highlighting gender pronouns might be many people’s entry point to McCusker’s work, but their ability to honestly tell the story of their transitioning through ceramics might just save someone else’s life. That’s a pretty huge achievement for just one artist.

“The rate of suicide attempts in trans-identifying people is a massive 41%. I made a choice to move forward, to be visible and vulnerable so that others may know they are not alone in their fight. The work that followed centered issues of microaggressions and outright abuse that I experience in my life and on social media.”4

“Declaring their identity so visibly makes McCusker vulnerable, which reminds viewers of our shared humanity and desire for acceptance, safety, self-expression, privacy, dignity, and the ability to control and define our own identities.”5

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Edited by Sarah McGill

1 – Mac Star McCusker; https://sociallyengagedcraftcollective.org/portfolio/mac-mccusker/

2 – Saba Stovall; Trans-Action Art; 2017; Studio Potter

3 – Saba Stovall; Mac McCusker’s Non-Binary Heroes; https://burnaway.org/magazine/mac-mccuskers-nonbinary-heroes/

4 – Mac Star McCusker; Telling My Own Story; 2020; Ceramics Monthly November 2020 issue

5 – 2018 Emerging Artist: Mac McCusker; 2018; Ceramic Monthly