There’s no need for words to explain what you want; I can read it from your belt loop. Your keychain presses firmly against my right hip. I can feel its coldness through the fabric. It sends shivers all over my body.
In Maria Izabella Lehtsaar’s exhibition “Bundle of Keys”, carabiners become objects of desire. Metal clips familiar to builders, sailors and hikers began to be used as practical jewellery among working-class lesbians in the United States around 70 years ago. Much like the hanky code used within BDSM communities (a practice of wearing different-coloured handkerchiefs in back pockets), attaching a carabiner to either the left or right side of a belt loop could be used to communicate one’s sexual preferences.
Flagging, or the practice of communicating something about oneself to others through clothing and accessories without using words, has been and remains important in various subcultures. It allows people to give discreet hints about their sexuality and other forms of belonging at times when expressing these things openly and directly may invite disapproval or even attacks. Carabiners are one such example: for most people, they are a functional accessory that blends into everyday life, but for some, a stylistic choice that marks identity. Lehtsaar adds:
“Bundles of keys have an allure for me. Their usefulness, their cold and durable metal, their smooth shape. The practical function of carabiners shifts into the semiotic and becomes something purely visually pleasing. How do we value the usefulness of something when it is simply beautiful or attractive? I carefully curate keychains; there always seem to be more of them than keys… A carabiner hanging from a belt loop serves a practical purpose, keeping the wearer’s keys secure, but it can also hint at the wearer’s sexuality. What may appear to someone else as an utile random accessory can sometimes be a secret code for unlocking someone’s identity.”
Maria Izabella Lehtsaar is an artist based in Tallinn whose work focuses primarily on underrepresented queer experiences and narratives. Their work often explores symbols hidden within spaces and encoded meanings. Lehtsaar’s works draw the eye with radical softness, standing in contrast to the oppressive world of constructed gender roles. In their practice, they weave together pop culture and sensitive monochromatic graphics, combining them with textiles, drawing and poetry.
Exhibition design: Sarah Nõmm
Graphic design: Agnes Isabelle Veevo
With thanks to: Anita Kodanik, Heneliis Notton, Sarah Nõmm, Agnes Isabelle Veevo
The exhibition is supported by: Cultural Endowment of Estonia, Tuletorn Pruul
