Dean Sameshima

DEAN SAMESHIMA (Torrance, California, 1971).
“Untitled (Gay),” 2003.
Photograph, Fuji-Flex print. Copy 1/3, from an edition of 3 + 1 A.P.
Peres Projects label on the reverse.
Accompanied by a certificate of authenticity issued by Peres Projects, Berlin, signed by Javier Peres and dated September 9, 2016.
Reference bibliography for the work: C. Kraus, J. Tumlir, and J. McFadden, *LA Artland. Contemporary Art from Los Angeles*, London, 2005, p. 131 (another copy from the edition reproduced).
Measurements: 31 x 24.5 cm (image); 53.5 x 47 cm (frame).

Dated 2003, “Untitled (Gay)” is part of *Deaf Dude*, one of Dean Sameshima’s most significant early projects exploring the visual codes of gay culture. The series consists of rephotographs taken from a 1980s pornographic magazine in which a model used sign language to convey various terms of a sexual nature. Sameshima deliberately preserves the print texture and the editorial character of the source, making the process of appropriation visible and shifting an image originally intended for private consumption into the realm of artistic photography.

In this image, the gesture that gives rise to the term “Gay” takes on an almost linguistic function: body, sign, and word are linked within a single visual construction. This technique is particularly representative of Sameshima’s practice, which has focused from the outset on recovering images, publications, and codes from queer culture and recontextualizing them as documents of a social and visual history that is often marginalized. The significance of this 2003 body of work is further underscored by its early critical reception: *Deaf Dude* was featured in *BUTT Magazine* and reviewed by Emily Pethick in *Artforum* in 2004.

Dean Sameshima studied at the California Institute of the Arts and the ArtCenter College of Design. His career has focused on photography, archiving, and the memory of spaces and languages associated with queer culture. In 2024, he participated in the 60th Venice Biennale, and his work is part of collections such as the Getty Museum, the Hammer Museum, LACMA, MOCA Los Angeles, and MASP. He lives and works in Berlin.