Queer, Folks analyses the relationship between queerness and Sardinian rural geographies, exploring how the performativity of folk tradition produces norms and illusions of consistency. Motifs and symbols firmly rooted in the agro-pastoral imaginary become means to explore how queerness can be expressed through a restaging of the folk grammar. The tapestries are conceived as symbolic objects that, having escaped the domestic space, become part of a seemingly unplanned ‘rug beating’ ritual, that arouses an unforeseen moment of celebration and queer reclamation of the rural environment.
BIO
Marco Loi is a designer and artist based in the Netherlands and Sardinia. He studied Graphic Design and Visual Communication at ISIA U and completed an MA in Geo-Design at the Design Academy Eindhoven in 2023. His practice takes shape from geographical explorations through trans-linguistic and trans-disciplinary research. He interweaves editorial design, photography, sound, and textiles, investigating geopolitical forces and socio-environmental instabilities inscribed in specific territorial formations. More specifically, his work is developed at the intersection of queer studies, folklore, traditional crafts, and new technologies.
This project is funded by Stimuleringsfonds / Creative Industries Fund NL, the Dutch national cultural fund for design, architecture and digital culture. It funds innovative, often interdisciplinary design projects.