Queer Turquoise

Queer Turquoise (2022) is a piece with some subtle hints of a concept: that queerness is often akin to a kind of magic. Magic and magical imagery have always been a part of queer imagery and culture, whether in the adoption of the mythical fairy as a sort of mascot or through the witch trials of the Lavender Scare, or the witch-like powers of seduction gay man were said to have had over the suburbanite sons. The original pride flag included a stripe which stood for magic: turquoise. Queer people have always found a keen way to take something ordinary, and by imparting their own brand of spellcasting, transfigure it into a thing that is new, spectacular, and compelling.

Queer Turquoise (2022) was commissioned as part of the I Exist Project by saxophonist Nick May.