Christian Bronstein
Christian Bronstein predominantly creates high-definition digital artefacts and animations that focus on exploring the use of abjection as a new material practice.
This collection of works is the culmination of a two-year autoethnographic exploration of the origins of post-AIDS gay millennial shame. Put simply, it examined how the AIDS epidemic created an unsavoury image of gay men in the minds of the people that oversaw raising the millennial generation, which was corroborated by an extensive analysis of the role of the UK press in presenting and positioning gay men as a threat to society.
The resulting shame, revulsion and other negative emotions surrounding the experience of growing up as a young gay man in an environment where his existence was deemed to be abject is explored in the work using the fragmented body and figural forms. Christian utilises the materiality of the body with the intention of sharing the emotions of growing up gay whilst simultaneously subverting cultural ideals through the positive use of abjection with the aim to create works that act as ‘social agents’, hoping that they will aid in fostering empathy and conversation between individuals.