Non-linear time sounds like something out of a science fiction movie, but what if we could rewrite our histories in ways that feel as if things don’t happen sequentially? Overlapping the concepts of time, memory and the body, Gracianne Kirsch uses many art modalities to explore their own many-sided self.  

Kirsch, a UC Davis Art Studio M.F.A. alum, won the inaugural Letters & Science Prize for Excellence at the Arts & Humanities 2024 Graduate Exhibition for their thesis work “Arms reaching.” Part of that work will be featured in Makeshift Magazine this spring while Kirsch exhibits new work at 120710 Art Gallery and Studios in Berkeley. 

Now an art teacher in Dublin, Calif., Kirsch recalled their time in the M.F.A. program as challenging but, ultimately, it helped them push through limitations they’d previously set.  

“I spent a lot of time in this program trying to figure out what I needed to say about expression and gesture and bodies finding form,” Kirsch said. “I think that has a lot to do with my discovery of being trans and figuring out ways in which I could be more myself.” 

From the beginning, Kirsch wanted to explore the concept of memory.

“I came in really having this one question that I needed answered,” they said. "How are memories translated and reshaped with time? How do we remember dreams or stories — someone else's memory of something? How do we re-remember forgotten moments?" 

These questions led to others, dealing with childhood trauma, identity and time. 

Reflecting on expectation and memory 

As part of their research at UC Davis, Kirsch went through family photos and revisited their childhood home, eventually bringing several pieces of furniture and objects into their art expression, both metaphorically and literally. 

“Something I realized as I was exploring this idea of memory, is that I could come out of just being really self-reflective and really autobiographical and I could actually explore the concept of time and non-linear time,” Kirsch said. “Then I discovered that queer people are talking about this and have been talking about this idea of non-linear time.” 

The non-linear time concept deals with societal expectations and how, in LGBTQ+ communities, these expectations often don’t exist in the same way, or, as Kirsch describes, on the same timeline, as those outside the community. High school, college, career, marriage, buying a house, having children — these traditional milestones look vastly different depending on the community one belongs to. Recognizing this frees people from traditional roles and ways of being, encouraging them to process and reframe negative childhood experiences and allowing for healing and empowerment.  

“Queer people are not bound to this timeline because it wasn't written for us,” Kirsch said.  

 A change of heart and art  

While Kirsch had previously focused on line drawing and print making, they explored different mediums while at UC Davis. Eventually, they realized their artistic presentation — like the transition of their own body —  also wasn’t linear.  

“I decided ultimately that there was something exciting about not having a really cohesive story and creating space where a lot of different conclusions could be drawn from it,” Kirsch said. “I love seeing people interact with the work, when people get up really close to the work and are physically intimate with it and are trying to find moments of discovery within the smaller drawings.” 

Kirsch likened the viewer's experience to their own experience rediscovering past iterations of themselves through their artwork. 

“I kind of thought about it as finding this version — or several versions — of myself that were kind of lost to time and rekindling a relationship with these different iterations of myself through the years and opening up the floor for conversation with these younger versions of myself,” they said. 

Kirsch’s installation at the Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem Museum of Art was a physical representation of memories, dreams and stories from their life. The interactive and immersive exhibit included a mix of line drawing, film, photography and objects formed to build a sort-of walk through, or sit-in, live diorama. Museum visitors could sit on a folding chair and watch a video of Kirsch, reminiscent of a home movie, while other chairs —  sized for children, dolls and miniatures — seemed haphazardly placed around them, as in a play room. One table, borrowed from Kirsch’s childhood home, has the name “Gracie” on it scrawled in blue marker by a younger sibling.  

“I was really angry that my younger sibling did this action of love, like putting my name on this thing that they decided was mine and I thought it was ugly,” Kirsch said.  

Since then, Kirsch’s perspective on the perceived vandalism has shifted, as has their perception of their family and themself. 

Kirsch’s changing body through time, before and after top surgery, is also featured in the installation and artwork. All these different expressions exist on canvas and within the artist. The work honors the “she” of Kirsch’s childhood while also delighting in the newfound embodiment and ever-evolving identity of their more recent years.  

“I'm the same despite this kind of extraction that happened on my body,” Kirsch said. “Maybe I'm even more of myself.” 

Gracianne Kirsch's work will be featured in Drawn on view March 29 - April 19 at 120710 Art Gallery and Studios in Berkeley. View Kirsch's online portfolio. 

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