Barbara Stanwyck Used to Lie Here

A photograph taken in what used to be Barbara Stanwyck’s bedroom in Marwyck, a ranch she built together with Zeppo Marx in 1937. Considering that Stanwyck and her relationship to the Western genre were the focus of my research and that her Estate is still standing in its original location in Los Angeles, I decided to drive from the Mojave desert to the city during my YVML – High Desert residency period. As a result, I was able to access the actress’s room, taking a snapshot where Stanwyck’s bed had been, and thus where she used to lie. In this work, and in the possible meanings its title beholds, it’s implicit the queer nature of the actress’s real-life and on-screen persona.