These Selves

Works from the Saki Chan series made in Mexico with Butoh dancers from Japan: “In these images, humanity and nature are intimately intertwined. Humans seem to find a form of (physical) freedom by moving in and with the water, partially freed from the laws of gravity. (…) Lore Stessel’s encounters with the dancer(s) and their environment is crucial to these images: she invites them to dance freely in front of her (lens) in a context/place of their choice; sometimes indoors, mostly outdoors, but always in a place that, through them, Lore Stessel comes to discover herself. (…)

In these images, Lore Stessel reconciles three gestures: the gesture of the photographer and the importance of the (right) decision in choosing what moment to capture; the gesture of the dancer and the capturing of a fraction of their movement; and finally, the gesture of the painter, which (re)introduces the movement (and, to a certain extent, also coincidence) to the still image (of a movement), during the developing process. Throughout these meetings between photographer and dancer, mutual “trust” between both partners is essential. The entire creative process takes place within the compelling suspense of time, always accompanied by a deeply human awareness of its fleetingness and value.”

— Excerpt from “Lore Stessel: In beweging” by Marie-Pascale Gildemyn, Brussels, 02.2020, Text translated from Dutch by Janne Van Beek

Loulou João is an AfroBelgian 3D illustrator and animator, due to her mixed roots she developed an interdimensional worldview. Because of this, she approaches political, cultural, socio-economic and historical aspects of the white world in an analytical way. Investigating how white superiority is upheld and how it affects her own identity and position within this societal setting. She attempts to shine a different light on the narration and representation of black and mixed women. She sees blackness as a technology. One that is constantly evolving to survive and go up against objectification and oppression.

By making use of 3D software (blender), she visualises her own reality. a digital world that consists of candy coated squishy plastic objects. Within this reality she is able to focus on the expression of her own true self without any constructs weighing her down. And she can create her own safe space, giving her the opportunity to reflect on the struggles she faces in the physical world.

My work focusses on people, and on the absence of them. I paint the people that surround me, and/or intrigue me, people that make me want to look at them in a different way. I focus on the way they move, stare, behave, on a certain look in the eyes maybe, or on how they tend to interact with their surroundings. I mostly paint them in an intimate place, a place you don’t often share with others, and if you do, with close ones. The clothes they wear may sometimes have an influence on the work in terms of colour and atmosphere, but mainly their face is what keeps me interested. I consciously do not highlight the person’s gender. Because I don’t feel like the appearance of someone’s gender defines who that person is, either mentally and physically. 

The Genderless Series is an ongoing concept that I have been working on for more than 2 years. It started off as a side project but I now realise it has become my biggest drive and the overall concept of my work. It simply is my view on people/the outside world, and so in that way my view on portraits.

STRIPPER ANGEL is the moniker for the visual arts projects and sculptures created by the internationally rising, ‘glamourous alien popstar’ DOLLY BINGBING, a self-proclaimed ‘cybersexual fantasy’, ‘futurist disney punker’ and soft-core performance artist. Both artist identities, STRIPPER ANGEL and DOLLY, venture themselves in kinky ‘post-apocalyptic Gesamtkunstwerke’, mixing ancient imagination with dark and cartoonesk imagery inspired by the subversive depths of the internet. Being both an ultra-mythological olympic warrior and a bondage cyborg sci-fi manga-doll, they reveal a new, angelic, futuristic form of sexuality: queer, porn, pulp, goth, glam, tech, tropical, fashion, sweet, hard, open and inaccessible all at once. STRIPPER ANGEL is a body of alien artworks, DOLLY is an alien body as living art. 

As a sculptor and visual artist, STRIPPER ANGEL creates alien sculptures and alien visuals. She uses crafts and techniques such as modeling with clay, casting in plastics, finishing with car paint, ceramics, glazing, painting, manga drawing. She prefers creating total-art-installations combining her different skills and media, often having them interact with DOLLY’s performance practice. She is currently working on a new mega sculpture and on her first graphic novel Memory and Desire for her post-apocalyptic hentai-manga-project Dolly: Alien Battle Goddess. Thousand Axes Series [K-X]. 

Stef Van Looveren is an Antwerp based multidisciplinary genderfluid artist. They studied fine arts at Central Saint Martins, London and Sint Lucas, Antwerp. Stef Van Looveren’s practice translates itself into video installation, photo, sculpture and performance. Van Looveren uses the installations as an attempt to reflect and dismantle the performativity of our human behaviour, primarily within the notion of gender. Playfully mimicking our social conducts along with visual culture, their work moves towards a surreal gesture.