ARTS SOUTHEAST IS PLEASED TO PRESENT
BODYJUMPERS
A solo exhibition by LEIA GENIS
ON DISPLAY IN THE ELLIS GALLERY FROm
May 3rd – June 15th, 2024
Opening Reception: Friday, May 3rd from 5 - 9PM in conjunction with First Fridays in Starland
Artist Talk: Saturday, May 18th, 2024 at 2PM
Closing Reception: Friday, June 7th from 5 - 9PM in conjunction with First Fridays in Starland
About the exhibition
On a splendidly warm October evening in Atlanta, I was with my friend Kitty. The meandering path of our conversation brought us to birthdays and astrology. Upon learning that I was born in early June, Kitty remarked, “You’re a bodyjumper. All Geminis are bodyjumpers.” I am not enamored with astrology the way that Kitty is, so I hesitate to agree with her statement but the term “bodyjumper” struck me as unequivocally trans.
Jumping between bodies, modifying appearances, exchanging identities, and slipping into and out of personalities are all acts I perform regularly as I navigate the world as a trans person. Sometimes this jumping is purely for my own self-satisfaction – the mutability of self-expression is one of the most delightful parts of being human to me – but many times it is a very necessary survival technique – the world is frightfully full of places and people actively antagonistic toward trans people. This social performativity is complemented by the biological changes I undergo as I continue hormone replacement therapy (HRT). The process of medically altering hormone levels within my body causes a very physical body jump as I move from a more masculine physique to a more feminine one.
Body jumping is an endemic part of being trans, in no small part since most places are not built for us. Because of this, trans people frequently thrive in secondary locales, oft-overlooked spaces, and non-traditional venues. The artworks in this exhibition exhibit the same characteristics. Largely avoiding the flat expanses of the gallery’s walls, the artworks exist in the gallery’s crevices and corners. Not detrimentally sequestered, the artworks excel in their non-traditional spaces. Existing in corners and hanging between the ceiling and the wall, these artworks jump between surfaces; one body existing on two planes.
Body jumping is never a perfect or complete expression of a person, it is always mitigated and marred by environmental conditions. But the real joy of body jumping exists not in finding the exact right expression, it is delighting in the ability to jump.
about the artist
Leia Genis (b. 1997, Chicago, IL) is a trans artist and writer currently based in Atlanta, Georgia. A graduate of the Savannah College of Art and Design with degrees in painting and sculpture (2019), her artwork has been exhibited nationally and internationally at venues such as MOCA GA (Atlanta) and the Ipswich Biennale (Ipswich, UK). Her artworks have been written about in Elephant Magazine, Galerie Magazine, Sugarcane Magazine, and other publications. Her writing has been published in Frieze, Burnaway, Art Papers, and Numbers Inc. Magazine. Genis is currently a full-time studio artist. In addition to her artistic endeavors, she is an avid cyclist with a competition history at the national level.
Website: www.leiagenis.art
Instagram: @leiagenis
