Pathfinding

Inspired by the artist’s 2019 winter residency in Vermont, USA, Pathfinding repurposes the classic word-search puzzle. The grid of letters filling the space may initially appear incoherent, but from this jumble words begin to emerge. Hidden words include those used in medical terminology, chosen by Bellamy for their significance to her personal experience of transition.

Each letter is formed by looping and tying fluorescent pink trail tape, which is scattered through the many hiking trails surrounding the Vermont Studio Center. Trail tape is used to help hikers stay on intersecting paths through the forest, and this method of path-finding is interpreted in Bellamy’s work as an analogy for finding direction through questioning and exploring gender.

Featuring fluorescent pink, Bellamy’s work references the connotations that come with this colour. It seeks to illuminate and call into question the politisation of trans-bodies, social expectations of gender-performativity and the problematic rise of the ‘gender reveal’ stunt.

The Booth is open for proposals in an annual call. Read more about the space here.