Baker Artist Portfolios

In the worlds they construct, the duo encourages viewing great friendships as creative enterprises, deserving artistic scrutiny. For Wickerham & Lomax (W&L) it’s about approach, attitude and the construction of images tasked with playing a certain role. From this position both artist and image challenge the dynamics between the individual and the collective. Their approach involves a meticulous blend of installation, CGI, and industrial materials, unveiling a deeper exploration of cultural forms, often found in the unobserved realms of debauchery and communal gathering.

Within their studio, W&L transform into versatile creators, assuming roles ranging from showrunners to designers, guardians, and hosts. This transformative space becomes a hub for cosplay, filming, writing, designing, and collaboration, emphasizing the fluidity of their artistic practice.

Biology remains a working metaphor in their practice to explore lineage, striving towards the possibility in variation– resulting in the exploration of new forms of community, sharing, and exchange. As a core influence, ACT UP, has a simultaneity of action and effectiveness that's a prime example of how they think about collaboration and the impact of disseminated information.

Show themes have included: birthing, parenting, surrogacy, the avian, and camouflage. With a propensity to mirror pairings in the work, they use couples, scientists (Watson & Crick), design collaboratives (Proenza Schouler), and friends/colleagues (Fran Lebowitz and Toni Morrison), as a way to show how commonplace collaborative efforts are. 

Their artistic timeline, evolving since 2009, stands as a testament to the collaborative interests and shared experiences of two individuals navigating a twisted simultaneity. From the conceptual chaos of DUOX4Larkin to the participatory sing-along epic of Take Karaoke and the digital blizzard of BOY’Dega, their work challenges norms and melts away reputational effects.

In events like Diskobar, a real bar in Baltimore, and the subsequent Diskobar Reunion, W&L actively engage with social spaces, leaving an indelible mark on Maryland's artistic scene. Their pandemic exploration, Domestic QT, blurs the lines between real and screen life, delving into para-social relationships and the complexities of contemporary existence.

Wickerham & Lomax employ queer sensibilities, speculative fictions, and networked virtuality to present a discourse on identity, subculture, marginality, and connectivity. Influenced by queer theory, human geography, and socio-political dynamics in urban spaces, they navigate the complex terrain of artistic expression, offering a unique perspective that resonates with contemporary narratives. Their impactful work stands poised to further complicate mainstream tropes and pave the way for an enriched artistic landscape.