FRANCESC RUIZ, 'GASWORKS YAOI' HOMOEROTIC COMIC BOOKSHOP INSPIRED BY VAUXHALL, AT GASWORKS, LONDON

Yaoi girls!


Francesc Ruiz and curator Carmen Julia


Tonico Lemos and Alessio Antoniolli buying their Yaoi comics










Francesc Ruiz
Gasworks Yaoi
26th November 2010 - 23rd January 2011
Preview: Thursday 25 November 2010, 6.30-9pm

Gasworks Yaoi is the first solo exhibition by Spanish artist Francesc Ruiz in London. The show is the culmination of Ruiz's research in the local area, conducted during his residency at Gasworks. Inspired by the longstanding gay establishments in Vauxhall, the artist has created a semi-fictional narrative that overemphasises the clichés around sexuality and lifestyle in the area.

For Gasworks Yaoi, Ruiz will transform the front of the gallery into a bookshop specialising in yaoi comic books. Originating in Japan, this genre (translated as 'boys love') depicts male homoerotic narratives. However, unlike male-oriented gay erotica, yaoi comic books are both produced and consumed by women.

The yaoi comics, featured in Ruiz's bookshop at Gasworks are allegedly produced by female amateur illustrators who portray the encounters of a group of men whose nightlives revolve around Vauxhall's sprawling gay club and bar scene. By adopting the yaoi comic format and resorting to female authorship, Ruiz distances himself from the stories and characters he depicts, allowing for the imagination to run wild, indulging in stereotypes and idealised situations. Through the comics' humour and distortion of reality Ruiz gives himself license to explore a specific subculture and the way it sits within the wider fabric of the neighbourhood.

Turned into a specialised comic bookshop for women, Gasworks' space becomes an environment where sexuality, local context and its social dynamics are fictionalised and packaged into a product for consumption.

NB - This exhibition includes adult content. Parental discretion is advised.

Francesc Ruiz's recent solo exhibitions include The Paper Trail, CIC, Cairo (2010); Big Boom, Centre d'Art la Panera, Lleida (2009); Bcn Eye Trip, Galeria Estrany de la Mota, Barcelona (2008); La Visita Guiada / The Guided Tour, MNCARS, Monasterio de Santo Domingo de Silos, Burgos (2008). Selected group exhibitions include The Last Post. The Last Newspaper, New Museum, New York (2010); The Malady of Writing, MACBA, Barcelona (2010); The Graphic Unconscious. Philagrafika, Temple Gallery, Philadelphia (2010); Sequelism: Episode 3: Possible, Probable or Preferable Futures, Arnolfini, Bristol (2009); and 28th Biennial of Graphic Arts, Ljubljana (2009).