On August 16, Fire Island Artist Residency (FIAR) resident Babirye Leilah, activist and artist from Uganda, introduced her installation “Door to Fantasy,” at the entrance to the Ice Palace, as a gift to the Cherry Grove drag queens, whom she has come to love and respect during her month-long stay here.
“Since many”—in Uganda, where a heinous Anti-Homosexuality Bill is in effect—“call gay people rubbish, I decided to collect the rubbish from dustbins to create something beautiful,” Leilah has said, and in “Door to Fantasy,” which consists of a mirror surrounded by an arrangement of soda cans and other found objects, she has done just that.
In her statement about this work, Leilah has written, “This project is a gift to the community of Cherry Grove … It is important for me to give love, respect and kindness in life. I decided to honor the many drag queens … who give their life, energy and talent to both look good and entertain people all Summer here on the island. Drag queens love beauty and the good things in life. I thought of a mirror as an object of glamour and reflection. Before they come on stage to entertain us they first look into the mirror to check their beauty … The mirror is decorated to reflect their elegance, and help them lead us into fantasy.”
On August 16, Leilah and others photographed a number of Ice Palace queens, as they looked at their reflections in the decorated mirror that is the “Door to Fantasy.”