The Primordial Queer is a 10 second ethereal animation that explores queer love through the perspective of queer ecology. It portrays a narrative of the merging and melding of multiple organism entities that give way to the symbiosis of queer love. The animation echoes the intricate organic forms as coral, sea anemones lichen, moss, stalagmites and stalactites, mycorrhizal fungi, human bodies and many more that it pays homage to. Queer ecology rejects simplified notions of “natural” and “morality” within animal and animal behavior. It recognizes the diversity of the natural world and encourages discourse based on queerness. All living organisms are interconnected through the lens of queer ecology. It weaves past, present, future to the open possibility. “Queering” nature is to understand that nature is complex and cannot be contained by supposed binaries. Through this lens, the essence of queer love transcends beyond the boundaries of our physical bodies and can be found in the intricate ecological networks that have existed for eternity. Queerness and queer love live in nature’s ever-existing metaphors – the infinite combinations of symbiosis between, the elements, and the organisms that interact and inoculate the terrain. Queerness is primordial. Queerness is resilient. Queerness is transcendent.

Brian Jiang (they/them)

Brian Jiang (they/them) is a queer trans multi-disciplinary artist of Chinese-descent based in Tkaronto. Their practice comprises of animation, illustration, painting, graphic design and beyond. Brian graduated from OCADU’s illustration program in 2020. As an artist collaborator working within the cultural sector, their arts-practice is informed by their love for the communities that they belong to. Brian’s work draws upon mythology, the natural world, and lived experiences to explore the ties between identity, diasporic migration, kinship, and ecological connections. They have been commissioned by Pride Toronto, Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival, Xpace Cultural Centre, Maisonneauve Magazine, LinkedIn StreetARToronto and more.

Their work can be found at @_brianjiang.