The Last Case of George Cecil Ives 1867 – 1950

“George Cecil Ives was a British-German poet, penal reformer, diarist, and founder of The Order of Chaeronea, the worlds first secret homosexual society, founded in London in 1891. Ives is a little known but highly significant figure in LGBT heritage; Artist Jez Dolan is one of the first people to research Ives in any depth, and the first artist internationally to create work examining Ives and his legacy. Ives’ archive (comprising of 122 volumes of diaries, and a large number of other manuscripts, letters and ephemera) gives a unique picture of an aristocratic homosexual man living through a period of almost unimaginable change. Ives’ archive is held by the Harry Ransom Centre, University of Texas, Austin, where Jez undertook a research visit in October/November 2014.

I will explore the significance of this little know archive, and Ives’ significance within the wider field of LGBT+ emancipation/liberation at a time when homosexual behavior was considered (by the majority) to be worse than murder. I will expand into other areas of my practice, specifically Polari, in the creation of new artworks.”

Jez Dolan

Jez Dolan’s practice is interdisciplinary, project-based and research-driven. Currently working with printmaking, photography, performance, installation and curating, whilst exploring the creation of new works from archival sources, through which we recall and revisit individual and shared memories and histories, often through the use of text as both visual presence and mode of communication. He is interested in researching Queer identity; histories, heritage and personal archives, and how we place these, and ourselves in the wider world.

Jez works from his studio in Manchester, and is currently studying for a Masters degree in Queer Studies, Visual Art & Culture at Birmingham School of Art

Website: http://jezdolan.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jezdolan

Jez will be speaking on day 3 of the conference