Shoreditch exhibition: One-off LGBTQIA+ Christmas tree topper reclaims ‘fairy’ for the festive season
Creative company Wieden+Kennedy London and artist Bora today proudly open the exhibition of The Fairy Christmas Tree Topper, a one-off resin piece to celebrate queer positivity during the festive season. An auction of the topper will also raise money for The Common Press, a queer bookshop facing imminent closure.
The concept of the art piece was developed by creatives at creative company Wieden+Kennedy London, centring on challenging the dual meaning of the word ‘fairy’; commonly used as derogatory slang whilst also being a symbol of peace on top of Christmas trees. Many LGBTQIA+ people have to alter themselves when visiting home for Christmas – or face such derogatory insults – but the new piece reclaims the fairy as a queer icon, as a symbol of inclusiveness and joy.
Based on this idea, the company commissioned Bora, an interdisciplinary queer artist known for works of imaginative activism, to design their vision of a queer fairy christmas tree topper in resin.
The piece will be exhibited at Wieden+Kennedy London’s outdoor gallery space from December 5th – 24th, free to view from the street at 16 Hanbury St, whilst its auction on Indy.Auction runs concurrently to raise money for The Common Press. London’s first consciously queer bookshop provides a safe space for the LGBTQIA+ community during day and night, but is facing closure due to a lack of investment. The auction will run until 13th December and can be accessed here.
Interdisciplinary artist Bora commented: “We have the power as humans and artists to reinvent, morph and recreate narratives that are more inclusive, and more aligned with the times that we live in. I often work with big symbols that have already been invented, and I like to reinvent them. This Fairy is really about creating a sentient magic object that can spread magic around people.”