MALIC AMALYA

35mm slidemounts, photocopied transparencies, tape

digital video

Closed captions available

2017

6 minutes

In this dual projection slide show of collaged imagery, FlyHole tells the story of a housefly who transitions into a man in order to cruise gay bars. Text and images are photocopied from the March 1985 issue of the adult, gay digest magazine, Manscape, including illustrations by Mike Kuchar.

Text and images in FlyHole are appropriated from the short erotica, “The Dildo in my Pocket,” published in Manscape (March 1985). The original story is about a “woman” who “disguises herself” as a man in order to pursue the gay man “she” is in love with. Despite using outdated language and transphobic tropes, the story accurately depicts the concerns and fears many trans-masculine people have about passing, takes seriously the gay desires that some trans-masculine people have for men, and portrays the main character as a competent lover, capable of bringing a cis gay man—and, presumably, Manscape’s readers—to orgasm.

Through the use of collaged images of flies onto sections of text from “The Dildo in my Pocket,” the main character is transformed into a housefly who transitions into a man. Through this alteration, the transphobic notion of trans people are grotesque is reworked into a science-fiction, anti-assimilationist parable. FlyHole holds onto Mascape’s trans-masculine history, while circumventing heteronormative gender-assignment.

FILM SCREENINGS:

THE EMBODIED PRESS: QUEER ABSTRACTION AND THE ARTISTS’ BOOK — Curated by Anthea Black — Kala Art Institute — Berkeley, California: October 12, 2023 - February 9, 2024 — Opening Reception: Thursday, October 12, 6 - 8pm

SMALL TRANS FILM CLUB — The Pink Stripe: Trans Sex on Screen — SMALL TRANS LIBRARY BELFAST — Belfast, Ireland: 2023

CINEMA OF DESIRE — Curated by April Lin — ENTRE FILM CENTER — Harlingen, Texas: 2023

SMALL TRANS FILM CLUB — SMALL TRANS LIBRARY DUBLIN — Dublin, Ireland: 2023

T-MASC EROTICS THROUGH THE CAM HOLE — OTHERNESS ARCHIVE — Cactus Club — Milwaukee, Wisconsin: 2023

BROS BEFORE RELEASE PARTY — Open Books — Chicago, Illinois: 2023

MASCULINE DESIRES — OTHERNESS ARCHIVE — Ugly Duck — London, United Kingdom: 2022

PERPETUAL PERVERSION — BLONDE COBRA — The Cinematheque — Vancouver, Canada : 2022

QUEER SPACES & PLACES — MAGIC LANTERN CINEMA — Brown University — Providence, Rhode Island: 2022

BLONDE COBRA: FESTIVAL FOR QUEER AND EXPERIMENTAL CINEMA — Cologne, Germany: 2020

QUEER ANIMATIONS — TORONTO QUEER FILM FESTIVAL — Toronto, Canada: 2020

VITREOUS CHAMBER — COLLECTIF JEUNE CINEMA — L’Etna — Paris, France: 2020

BUTTCOCKS: FEATURING FILMS BY VITREOUS CHAMBER — Club SchwuZ; Berlin, Germany: 2019

FESTIVAL LES MERVEILLES — L’Entrepot Cinema — Paris, France: 2019

REWIRE FILM FESTIVAL — Spectrum — Eugene, Oregon: 2019

DESIRE & RESISTANCE — Curated by Finn Paul — University of California at San Diego — San Diego, California: 2019

DESIRE & RESISTANCE — Curated by Finn Paul — Pacific Northwest College of Art — Portland, Oregon: 2019

DESIRE & RESISTANCE — Curated by Finn Paul — QUEER ARTS FESTIVAL — Cineworks — Vancouver, Canada: 2019

DESIRE & RESISTANCE — Curated by Finn Paul — MIX COPENHAGEN — Denmark: 2019

DESIRE & RESISTANCE — Curated by Finn Paul — MELBOURNE QUEER FILM FESTIVAL — ACMI Cinema— Australia: 2019

DESIRE & RESISTANCE — Curated by Finn Paul — Lesbian Ranch House — Olympia, Washington: 2019

DESIRE & RESISTANCE — Curated by Finn Paul — SCOTTISH QUEER FILM FESTIVAL — Glasgow, Scotland: 2019

DESIRE & RESISTANCE — Curated by Finn Paul — ALTES FINANZAMT — Berlin, Germany: 2019

DESIRE & RESISTANCE — Curated by Finn Paul — Cinema of the Dam’d — Amsterdam, Holland: 2019

DESIRE & RESISTANCE — Curated by Finn Paul — Counterpulse — San Francisco, California: 2019

DESIRE & RESISTANCE — Curated by Finn Paul — OUTFEST — Los Angeles, California: 2018

DESIRE & RESISTANCE — Curated by Finn Paul — Anthology Film Archives — New York, New York: 2018

MOTHA’S TRANS HIRSTORY IN 99 OBJECTS: VIDEO STORE — Curated by Chris Vargas, Executive Director of the Museum of Trans Hirstory and Art (MOTHA) — BETWEEN. — PORTLAND ART MUSEUM — Portland, Oregon: 2018

MIX NYC: THE NEW YORK QUEER EXPERIMENTAL FILM FESTIVAL — The Dream House — Brooklyn, New York: 2018

FEMCAST — Berlin, Germany: 2018

TWIST: THE SEATTLE QUEER FILM FESTIVAL — Northwest Film Forum — Seattle, Washington: 2017

SAN FRANCISCO TRANSGENDER FILM FESTIVAL — The Roxie — San Francisco, California: 2017

MALIC AMALYA & NATHAN HILL — SHAPESHIFTERS CINEMA — Temescal Art Center — Oakland, California: 2017