Robert Andy Coombs: Q&A
Robert Andy Coombs’ compelling photographs explore the intersections of queerness, sex and disability – often with the artist himself as subject. Here, VAULT chats with Coombs about relationships, performativity and being at war with Instagram.
Image credit: Robert Andy Coombs, Purple Kiss, 2019, archival ink jet print on metallic paper 101.6 x 134.62 cm. Courtesy the artist
So how are you, Robert?
I’m doing well. I’m currently at war with Instagram again, so that’s fun.
Well, this is what I wanted to ask you about actually. I know they’ve intermittently taken your images down, but it seems to be they’re waging a real campaign right now.
Well, my first bout with them was when I was in the middle of my studies at Yale [School of Art], the fall of 2019. It was the same time Jerry Saltz discovered my work and posted it on his Instagram. I had an influx of followers and I’m like, “Oh my God, this is amazing.” But then posts kept getting taken down, and ultimately it ended up in the demise of my first account.
Here’s how it happened. Every Friday Jerry posts a new artist, or something that he likes, to his Instagram. So it started on a Friday, and then my account on Saturday got deleted! Then on Monday, I reached out to him, he posted on his Instagram (again), and I got my account back. And then I was deleted later on in the week, around Thursday, and then they gave it back to me on Friday, and then they deleted it for good that Saturday.
So, it’s just like this stupid roundabout bullshit – you have to request a review, and then they don’t even tell you why. I just tried posting an image of these two boys carrying me at the beach and everything’s blurred out. There must be a new algorithm that just flags it automatically. But then once they’re reviewed they’re obviously seen by ...Subscribe to read this article in full
