Unicorn Artist Guest Blog: Dacha-Acorn-Ha!

Thursday 1st February 2024

As part of our upcoming Unicorn exhibition at Perth Museum, we have commissioned 6 artists who identify as queer or part of the LGBTQIA+ community to produce new Unicorn-themed artworks exploring the theme of ‘Unicorn hunting in 2023’. We asked each of our 6 artists to write a blog from their perspective about the process and idea behind their unicorn piece, and what the unicorn means to them in 21st-century Scotland.

Unicorn, the debut exhibition from Perth Museum, explores the rich significance of this beloved mythical creature from antiquity to the present day, through art, science, social movements, and popular culture. The unicorn’s enduring presence throughout history and its role as a symbol of Scotland’s changing heritage and identity will be explored through iconic loans from around the world, and interactive displays. The commissioned artworks in this exhibition explore the unicorn as a modern symbol of the LGBTQIA+ community.

The first blog in this series is written by the first of our commissioned artists GAINAGAIN.

GAINAGAIN, Drew and Kirsty are a Glasgow-based queer neurodiverse crafting duo. They create soft interior furnishings and commission artworks from upcycled/recycled/scrap fabric sources. Previous commissions include Govanhill Baths/Category Is Bookshop Queer Community Banner 2021. Fabric can easily be transformed and they are passionate about how the planet should gain again from never seeing fabric as single-use.

Dacha-Acorn-Ha!

Fabric, mixed-media – 90% upcycled/recycled sources

Created by Drew Taylor-Wilson [they/them] and Kirsty Pickering [they/them]

A box full of second hand star shaped plastic beads may seem daunting to many people… but to two neurodiverse people, this sort of hyper-focussed task is exactly what we need to quiet the mind in January 2024.

The beads in question will form the unicorn hair of DACHA-ACORN-HA! our upcoming commission for the new Perth Museum, celebrating queer/trans/non-binary young people. As artists we firmly believe it’s our job to throw light onto, to provide insight, to create inspiration… for aspects of the world that do not align with heteronormative society, in this case putting a spotlight on queer/trans/non-binary UK humans under 30. From cases like the murder of trans teen Brianna Ghey, to new anti-trans legislation appearing daily worldwide… to notable public authors inciting transphobia – it is not easy existing as a queer person in 2024 and we wanted to create DACHA-ACORN-HA! to celebrate the resilience of brilliance of young people stepping outside the gender binary.

Our unicorn’s skin will be made from upcycled clothes, donated by queer/trans/non-binary people under 30 – and we have already gathered donations from across the UK! Our aim is that when you look at DACHA-ACORN-HA and can identify one panel of fabric, you know it’s from a queer young person living in the UK right now. If you would like to donate an item – we are accepting them until February 5^th – for full details please contact drew_taylor@hotmail.co.uk

And if you’re wondering about her name: it’s an anagram of the Gaelic for Unicorn “Aon-adharcach”… Even in her name, transformed from a traditional word, oor Dacha is a trans icon.