Gender-Queer Narratives
For the second event in the series, the focus was on Gender-Queerness. The night was comprised of two performances and a short film screening. The works presented were:
“TRAN.SI.TION/ TEM.PO.RAL.I.TY” by Steef Kersbergen
TRAN.SI.TION – the process of changing from one state or condition to another
TEM.PO.RAL.I.TY – the state of being relating to time as opposed to eternity
Right now
I dream of right now
Of the beauty
Of the possibility
Of the multiplicity
The time where nothing is fixed yet
Everything is in movement
And able to freely shift
A performance contemplating time, transition, and hair.
Created in collaboration with Vicky Maier, in the context of the HOME OF PERFORMANCE PRACTICES.
“A Story of Unfolding Wings” by Stellata
An abstract animation made from handwoven frames about me hiding (also for myself) my gender behind a boymask, discovering it (unmasked), waiting, assessment (the process with psychologist), transitioning (HRT, operation) and serenity (after).
“120SQM DRESS” by Thommy Kraft
As a visual essay, 120SQM DRESS explores the connection between masculinity, sensitivity and the craving for softness. A giant textile slowly unfolds and takes over the stage, creating a fabric landscape. With the support of a wind machine, this landscape begins to move, dissolving all spatial and social limitations in a textile ocean. A head appears amidst the waves, a pair of shoulders, then a torso, until the ocean transforms into a beautiful skirt. This work exhibits the beauty and playfulness of exploring one´s own identity and body.
To quote the faggots and their friends: “There is more to be learned from wearing a dress for a day, than there is from wearing a suit for a lifetime.”
And a few words about the artists:
Steef Kersbergen (they/them) is a nonbinary performance artist working on the border between live and video work.
Steef questions conventions on gender in most of their work, from community theatre to visual arts, exploring all forms of in-betweens, and employing a nonbinary way of thinking in their practice. Their projects focus on the (De-/Re-)construction of the nonbinary identity through image making.
Temporality and slowness are key entry-points into their work, rooted in the belief that no identity is static or fixed and time is a non-linear and fluid concept.
Rooted in an auto-ethnographic approach, Steef uses their work as a way of visually addressing societal issues around trans*gender identities.
(IG: @steef_kersbergen)
Stellata (she/her) studied Image and Sound/Art Science at the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague. With her personal changes as a transgender woman, her art practice evolved with her. Her previous focus on sound art shifted to weaving textiles. In her experience, designing and working out fabrics is not less technical or audible than her earlier work. It resonates with her geeky personality. In her weaves she creates complex patterns and uses vibrant color combinations that she uses to convey her exuberant inner identity with the softness of her textiles.
(IG: @stellatakoppe)
Within their work, Thommy Kraft (they/them) is constantly searching to combine elements of visual and physical theatre to create hybrid forms that consist of moving bodies and animated material. The empty space as a starting point, Thommy often works with stage-consuming scenography in order to research their potential to transform and/or queer the given space. At this moment, Thommy is primarily interested in themes of queer identity, community building and physical intimacy, as well as their personal relationship to masculinity. Sensitivity and an open curiosity are core qualities that they seek on a conceptual level as well as in the physical work, whether it involves other bodies or animated material.
(IG: @thommykay)
