Zackary Drucker and Rhys Ernst: Relationship

Relationship, created by Zackary Drucker and Rhys Ernst, debuted at the 2014 Whitney Biennial. The JSMA exhibition features 26 photographs from the project, which chronicles Drucker and Ernst's private moments, from 2008 to 2013, as an opposite-oriented transgender couple, during which time Ernst transitioned from female to male and Drucker transitioned from male to female. Throughout the series, Drucker and Ernst portray each other and themselves as both whole and fragmented subjects—figures and bodies obscured by objects or reflected in mirror--and situated within environments ranging from domestic interiors to lush, outdoor settings. Included in the exhibition is Drucker and Ernst's video collaboration, She Gone Rogue, featuring Drucker and Ernst with legendary transgender performers Holly Woodlawn, Vaginal Davis, and Flawless Sabrina.

Drucker is an independent media, photography, and performance artist whose work has been exhibited internationally in museums, galleries, and film festivals, including the Whitney Biennial, MoMA PS1, the Hammer Museum, and the Art Gallery of Ontario. Drucker is also a transgender artist who breaks down the way we think about gender, sexuality, and seeing. Ernst is a filmmaker and artist who works across forms and modalities to investigate transgender identity, masculinity, and the intersection of gender and narrative construction. Drucker and Ernst are co-producers of the Amazon TV series Transparent.

Relationship is made possible with support from a JSMA Academic Support Grant, the College of Arts and Sciences, and the Division of Equity and Inclusion, and is part of the “Queer Productions” series, organized by the Department of English.