Dylan Meade opens up to Oisin Kenny about pushing back against the title ‘queer artist’, the creation of his distinct art style, and playing with pornography. All paintings by Dylan.

Defining queer art is difficult, as the term is fluid, mirroring the sexual and gender identities it encompasses - is queer art queer because of the artist, the audience, or even the subject? Dylan Meade has an innate desire to challenge the limitations of the title ‘queer artist’. “In my mind, I don’t like this subscribing to an identity, rather I just like to make work,” he says.

Growing up in Galway as a teenager during the 1990’s, Dylan discovered an interest in “muscular, half-naked men”. Films such as The Rocky Horror Picture Show and the art of Tom of Finland always caught his eye. “Maybe I was just a really horny kid or maybe I was just naturally drawn to them,” he jokingly comments.

Identity politics was not the direction Dylan originally envisioned for himself. Even though it has given him fertile ground to create art he feels passionately about. “It always has to come back around into a circling of my sexuality and my personal identity,” he shares. Dylan’s oil paintings are a testament to his desire to push back against these views, as the male subject is submerged in vibrant colours and become secondary to his unique art style. Pressed between two sheets of cling film or plastic, his technique keeps “paints looking wet and fresh, giving it a different surface”.