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### Subscribe to our newsletter **Daily** The latest stories every weekday **Weekly** Editors' picks and top stories **Opportunities** Monthly list for artists and art workers Sign in with Google Or Sign up Sign in to an existing account Privacy Policy Success! Your account was created and you’re signed in. Please visit My Account to verify and manage your account. An account was already registered with this email. Please check your inbox for an authentication link. ## **Support Independent Arts Journalism** As an independent publication, we rely on readers like you to fund our journalism. **If you value our coverage and want to support more of it, considerbecoming a member today.** Become a member _Already a member? Sign in here._ **We rely on readers like you to fund our journalism.** If you value our coverage and want to support more of it, please join us as a member. The showstopper in Vaginal Davis’s new exhibition, _Magnificent Product_ , at MoMA PS1 is a large phallus tucked into a rotating bed, titled “The Wicked Pavilion: Tween Bedroom” (2021). This massive recreation of the multidisciplinary artist’s preteen bedroom winks ironically at the viewer: A large erect penis — supposedly a symbol of masculine virility — is surrounded by pink, culturally coded as feminine. On the wall in the corner of the bedroom is a picture of activist Angela Davis, to whom the artist nods with her _nom de plume_. Every work by Vaginal Davis plays some kind of game with scale. That old adage “size matters” doesn’t fully articulate the ways that Ms. Davis (as she’s often referred to) enlarges and shrinks her subject matter, but it reflects the punk undercurrents of her art. The fairy godmother of the Los Angeles queercore scene, she brought gender-bending to the punk and hardcore music scenes of LA and New York in the 1970 and ’80s before further establishing herself as an artist and curator. Vaginal Davis, “The Wicked Pavilion: Tween Bedroom” (2021) (photo Isa Farfan/_Hyperallergic_) For her survey, Ms. Davis oscillates between the miniature and the monumental as a strategy to jolt viewers out of complacency and see the imagery anew. Each room at PS1 functions like a show within a show, with an over-the-top, tongue-in-cheek title and a different genre or theme. For the one-room installation “Sucking Her Unborn Cock – Archivist Headache Wall” (1970s–present), she coalesces innumerable tiny pieces of ephemera and photos that portray herself and members of her counterculture. Conversely, “HAG – small, contemporary, haggard” (2012) is an enclosed room with a sharply slanted floor that forces viewers to confront large sculptures of Mariah Carey and Justin Timberlake created from sourdough and preservatives. The floor slant is so extreme that footing can feel unstable. The walls are covered with silkscreened silhouettes of women’s faces, which Ms. Davis calls “Lesbiana Domesticity wallpaper” (2012). **Get the latest art news, reviews and opinions from Hyperallergic.** * Daily * Weekly * Opportunities Sign up Ms. Davis’s use of scale to coax double takes is most evident in “The Wicked Pavillon: the Fantasia Library” (2021). Using nail polish and makeup, she creates small likenesses of the queer, Black, and punk writers who inspire her on the back of postcards and other ephemera. For example, the small scale of an Octavia Butler portrait draws us in close, perhaps to ponder the limits of makeup as a medium and a symbol for the underappreciated creative geniuses who don’t happen to be pale, male, and straight as a nail. In contrast, the sheer volume of archival ephemera featured in the one-room installation “Sucking Her Unborn Cock – Archivist Headache Wall (1970s-present) feels colossal. Hundreds of photos and flyers are stashed behind curtains, so viewers have to literally peak behind the veil. Vaginal Davis once remarked in an interview that “High femme insight and determination on all matters gives my art that special oomph that draws people in from all walks of life.” That oomph is amplified by a scaling up and scaling down that pulls us in before facing us with the artist’s grand legacy and iconoclastic presence. Detail of Vaginal Davis “Sucking Her Unborn Cock – Archivist Headache Wall (1970s – Present) (all photos by Isa Farfan/_Hyperallergic_) __ Curator Hendrik Folkerts poses within an installation by Vaginal Davis, “HAG – small, contemporary, haggard” (2012) Installation view of Vaginal Davis, “The Wicked Pavillon: the Fantasia Library” (2021) Installation View of Vaginal Davis “Sucking Her Unborn Cock – Archivist Headache Wall (1970s–present) Detail of Vaginal Davis “Sucking Her Unborn Cock – Archivist Headache Wall (1970s–present) Vaginal Davis: Magnificent Product _, continues at MoMA PS1 (__22–25 Jackson Avenue_ , Long Island City, Queens) through March 2, 2026. The exhibition was organized by Hendrik Folkerts; the New York iteration was organized by Jody Graf and Sheldon Gooch. Please consider supporting _Hyperallergic_ ’s journalism during a time when independent, critical reporting is increasingly scarce. We are not beholden to large corporations or billionaires. **Our journalism is funded by readers like you** , ensuring integrity and independence in our coverage. We strive to offer trustworthy perspectives on everything from art history to contemporary art. We spotlight artist-led social movements, uncover overlooked stories, and challenge established norms to make art more inclusive and accessible. With your support, we can continue to provide global coverage without the elitism often found in art journalism. **If you can, pleasejoin us as a member today.** Millions rely on _Hyperallergic_ for free, reliable information. By becoming a member, you help keep our journalism independent and accessible to all. Thank you for reading. Become a member * Share using Native toolsShareCopied to clipboard * Click to share on Mail (Opens in new window)Mail * Click to share on Bluesky (Opens in new window)Bluesky