Brianna Wentz | Warpaint

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Brianna Wentz, “War Paint,” 2024

(courtesy of the artist)

Opening Reception: Friday, November 1st from 5-9 pm

A symbol of sex, controversy, and rock n’ roll—excessive, depraved, and worshipped without restraint—the Demon embodies every freedom and whim denied to women and gender-diverse people. Warpaint releases the demon in the metalhead fangirl, who is no longer a passive fan, but a rockstar in their own right. Rather than being possessed by the music, alluding to religious ecstasy and demonic possession, the fan becomes the demon themselves, challenging oppression and normativity in the scene.

This shift speaks to a deeper issue faced by Indigenous, Black, and other racialized people—the constant expectation to be strong and resilient. We are told we are resilient, but why should we always have to be? Centuries of intergenerational trauma, compounded by everyday racism and sexism, demand a space where sorrow, fear, desire, and rage can be unleashed. Enter metal, punk, and rock n’ roll.

These spaces provide an outlet for BIPOC and queer metalheads to build community and reclaim their identities. By honoring punk values, kinship is cultivated, because the mere presence of racialized and gender-diverse people in these scenes—and their very existence in a post-colonial society—is metal as fuck. Warpaint depicts these kin in all their unleashed deadliness.

Yet, racialized women and non-binary people remain underrepresented in metal. Few figures exist in these scenes with whom they can identify. There continues to be undercurrents of white supremacy, sexism, and homophobia in factions of metal and punk. Black Metal, known for its iconic corpse paint, has been shaped by musicians who openly supported white supremacist ideologies and homophobic hate crimes. These works seek to confront and dismantle such ideologies by depicting the power of the bodies and spirits they seek to destroy.

Vagina Witchcraft Performance: Thursday, October 31st from 7:00-10:00pm

Artist Talk and Livestream: Saturday, November 2nd from 1-2 pm