Photographer Francesco Giordano wants to show people how they are – proud
synergies. If Francesco Giordano, 29, had had his way, that would have been the title of his exhibition. Because that’s exactly what the photographer wants to achieve: networking artists with each other. But in the end Francesco bowed to the democratic majority. The exhibition is now called “Queer:Space” – which is no less apt. After all, it’s about giving queer people a space and giving them visibility. Francesco will unite 20 queer artists on July 2nd and 3rd in the Munich Aidshilfe. A dancer will be there as well as a drag queen, a game designer as well as a fashion designer. The gender and sexual identities of those involved are just as diverse. But it’s about much more than that: “Stories told by queer people are often sexualized,” he says. Francesco absolutely wanted to avoid that in the photo project on which the exhibition is based. “Queerness is also a political attitude,” he says. It means “thinking outside the box and not getting pigeonholed into any categories,” he says.
He portrayed the 20 artists partly in his studio and partly at their workplaces. They were allowed to decide for themselves what pose they took and how they dressed. “I didn’t want to serve clichés, but rather show people how they are, in their pride. There is no typically queer image,” says Francesco. Although he believes that queer people find it easier to find their place in society in Munich compared to other places, he still hopes that the exhibition will help break down prejudices. And then it’s about something else: “The guests should leave the exhibition with a positive feeling and maybe take something with them that they didn’t know before. Watching a drag performance is also just a lot of fun. Being queer fun,” says Francesco.
Game designer Lucas Fellner deals with queerness in video games
In video games, too, marginalized groups are often portrayed in stereotypes. Lucas Fellner wants to change that.
(Photo: Francesco Giordano)
Lucas Fellner is a passionate gamer. Not only that, he also designs video games. The 23-year-old studied art and multimedia. In his bachelor thesis he dealt with the representation of queerness in video games. “Like in other media, marginalized groups are often portrayed in stereotypes. For example, the gay man is often loud, feminine and hyper,” says Lucas. Because of the active role that one takes when playing, video games are particularly suitable for making life realities tangible. In the future, he therefore wants to design video games as places of representation for queer people: “My main claim is that video games not only serve as a distraction, but also offer a certain added value,” says Lucas. However, for the “Queer:Raum” he is planning a 3-D environment including sound. A cooperation has also emerged: he will provide animations for Daniela La Luz’s DJ set. Before the exhibition, he didn’t know any of the other artists, also due to the lack of visibility: “Munich used to have a reputation for not being queer and open at all. Fortunately, I noticed an upswing in the past year. There are more and more queer events, also about beyond the CSD.”
As Drag King, Sheila Achieng calls herself “Smooth Operator” and hopes for tolerance
“I couldn’t identify with the images of women that surrounded me,” says Sheila Achieng.
(Photo: Francesco Giordano)
Even as a little girl, Sheila Achieng, 28, realized that she was different. The Kenyan never had the feeling of fitting into society. “I couldn’t identify with the images of women that surrounded me,” she says. Nor with those of the men, who always presented themselves as the superior sex. So Sheila went her own way as a drag king and created the alter ego “Smooth Operator”, with which she breaks down gender stereotypes: “As a drag king, I can live out the masculine energy that is in me. And at the same time, Smooth Operator also has female sides in itself,” she says. In addition to her art, Sheila is involved with Beyond Color and holds anti-racism workshops. “Racism today is more subtle, but the microaggressions you experience still break you,” she says. Sheila hopes for two things from her performance at the exhibition: more visibility for drag kings and tolerance. “I hope that people will come with an open heart and see the talent that we queer people have within us.”
Painter Kyrylo Zhornovyi wanted to return to Ukraine, but then the war came
For the Ukrainian Kyrylo Zhornovyi, drawing is self-therapy – especially now that he is at war.
(Photo: Francesco Giordano)
Kyrylo Zhornovyi came to Germany in 2015 to study and because he didn’t feel accepted in Ukraine because of his queerness. Today, however, the 25-year-old looks more positively at his home country: “A lot has happened in this respect, there were also the first CSDs,” he says. A circumstance that has made him want to return in recent years. But the war broke out. Since then, his mother has lived with him and his friend in Germany. “I couldn’t work for the first few months because I didn’t have the feeling that I was doing something that was relevant,” says the surrealist painter. Only in art critical of Russia did he find new access. Inspired by René Magritte’s “The Man’s Son,” he created a picture that shows Putin with a grenade in front of his face instead of a man with an apple. “The picture was self-therapy for me,” he says.
Mai Strathmann studied makeup and wants to create queer visibility
Mai Strathmann deals with gender-related ideals of beauty.
(Photo: Francesco Giordano)
Mai Strathmann, 26, studied makeup at the theater academy: “The training is very binary. We were taught that it is for a female face that is read for a male face.” Mai, herself non-binary, wants to break up this system. That means always including the person and identity behind a living canvas. Not an easy task, especially in the context of theater productions: “There is always a lot of social criticism on stage, but it rarely gets through backstage,” says Mai. Mai also deals with gender-related ideals of beauty for the exhibition, together with Stella Deborah Traub, a photographer friend. Ultimately, however, it is not just the artworks themselves that are in the foreground for Mai in “Queer:Space”: “The most important thing is that we use the space to network and create queer visibility.”
Dancer and choreographer Alfonso Fernández Sanchez wants to make you think
“There is a female and a male side in me, too,” says Alfonso Fernández Sanchez.
(Photo: Francesco Giordano)
“Especially in classical ballet, the differences between the male and female roles are always emphasized,” says dancer and choreographer Alfonso Fernández Sanchez. When the 28-year-old is on stage, these two roles merge. “When I dance, I always bring my personality to bear. There’s a female and a male side to me, too,” says Alfonso. He hopes to engage in dialogue with audiences and get them thinking about gender and equality: “I communicate through movement. I translate my thoughts into my body.” During the exhibition, Alfonso will present an improvised performance, giving him the opportunity to integrate the work of the other artists. Be it music, costume or graphic design. “I think it’s great that everyone has a queer way of thinking. That means we’re on the same wavelength and can work well together,” says Alfonso.
Artist Federico Brens: Queerness and religion should not be mutually exclusive
For artist Federico Brens, queerness means feeling free.
(Photo: Francesco Giordano)
Federico Brens, 27, has had negative experiences related to his queerness all his life. The artist from the Dominican Republic moved to Bad Hindelang in the Allgäu at the age of nine. “I was the only black gay man in school. That’s when I learned how to deal with negativity and process it quickly,” he says. For Federico, queerness means feeling free. In his lifestyle, his looks and also in his painting and poetry, which repeatedly takes up religious motifs. “I like to provoke in connection with religion,” says the artist. Characterized by his origins, he firmly believes in the hereafter. Federico believes queerness and religion should not be mutually exclusive. “That’s why I want to take away people’s fear of religion with my art,” he explains. For the exhibition, Federico plans to combine his painting and poetry. He will present a large painting dedicated to the theme of pain.
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