We're always here

Installation, the use of space

Statement:

Thinking about Power and Violence. I have been challenged to look back to my own experiences and priviliges regarding this topic. Born as a white cis-male in quite a wealthy family has been a fortune. But being queer in seksuality and gender-expression has also made me ‘the other’ in the eyes of many.

My work is almost all the time very queer at heart. I sometimes find that quite annoying actually and wonder if there’s not more to it. But being in my twenties and this new formative phase leads me to express these kinds of topics right now. I have known oppression in a world that’s heteronormative, patriarchal and capatilistic. And especially after graduation I started realize it’s this fight against the status-quo, a battle a lot of us are in, that is at the center of a lot that I want to do. And it’s this constant questioning of society standards that is the true definition of queer. I even try to evaluate the way art and film industry are constructed and how much it benefits different visions.

My work always has tried to introduce queer character without using their identity or seksuality as the main-conflict. In that sense I try to make work that is ‘post-conflict’ and focuses on topics that are quite universal and recognizable for everybody.

But as a queer artist I feel like I need to address that the world we live in is not perfect. Violence and oppression is still present. Not only in countries where we are not tolerated, but also in the west. Take the recent shooting in a US gay bar for example.

For me work that has been significant in finding meaning in my queer journey are the stories that reflect the past. The history that has shaped our community. If it weren’t for movies like 120 BPM or Paris is Burning I wouldn’t have known much about the aids activism or ballroom-culture.