Men's 'Safe Space'

by Misha Nicholas

In "Men’s ‘Safe Space’," Misha Nicholas uses the manicured grounds of Pennsylvania’s Longwood Gardens to challenge the idea that "leisure" is a neutral experience. Through a feminist lens, Nicholas explores how gender and race dictate who is truly granted the luxury of safety in America. The people walk freely through a sunlit corridor, yet the scene is disrupted by heavy glitches. These distortions represent the "safe space" not as a place of true peace, but as one of hidden chaos. For Nicholas, this visual interference suggests that the figure's experience in these public gardens is a filtered reality—a fragile peace maintained by systemic power and the labor of others. By deconstructing this walk, Nicholas asks: In a landscape built for beauty, who is actually allowed to rest, and at what cost is that peace kept?