this is where I long to be
(la isla bonita)drawings by Marion Jdanoff
The place described in this series has no coordinates on a map, it is a mental territory, an attempt to visualize what a utopian queer space might look like.
I therefore got help from a real territory, one that feels to me most attuned to where I long for: the Canary Islands where I have been going over the past 15 years.
They already happen to be a recurring location for idealized mythological lands, like the Atlantis and the Garden of the Hesperides.
But I personally find them inspiring for the exploration of queer futurity. First, for they are very lgbt+ friendly, and they are also quite camp in their " love of the unnatural: of artifice and exaggeration" (Susan Sontag). For instance, they have one the biggest carnival culture in the world, lasting for months throughout the archipelago and during which subverting genders and religious orders becomes the norm. Also, the development of massive tourism since the 1960s has led to extreme experimentations, and often ecological hazards. The islands are hence dotted with failed capitalist architectures, abandoned hotels or theme parks, now devoid of their original usage and giving way to more ecofriendly projects. In their derelict form, they are reminiscent of reclaimed cruising zones.
Owing to its volcanic geology, the archipelago seems to contain an essential instability. It appears a sterile ground, yet it is full of diversity, vibrant cultures and reinvention. Some days, being there feels like walking on queer grounds.