OPENING NIGHT | Bones of Graphene, Skin of Kevlar by Julius Thissen

With Bones of Graphene, Skin of Kevlar, artist Julius Thissen (Son en Breugel, 1993) focuses on the resilience of the transgender community. Drawing on his personal experiences as a transmasculine person and his research into representation and gender in relation to dominant power structures, Thissen focuses on this community, which is seriously threatened from various angles. According to ultra-conservative christians and radical feminists, transgender people undermine social norms and endanger the safety of women and children. This targeted anti-trans politics of the extreme right is stalling the steady emancipation of transgender people. Whereas the visibility and legal recognition of transgender people had been growing for several decades, this development is now being harshly repressed by contemporary fascism.

In Bones of Graphene, Skin of Kevlar, Thissen creates futuristic transgender figures that embody the ancestral power of queer predecessors and counterbalance the dangers of our time. Within these images, Thissen captures the tensions and threats faced by transgender people, then translates them into forms that contribute to an empowering transformation.

In a time characterised by fearmongering, violence, media manipulation, the banning of gender-affirming healthcare and an increasing flow of misinformation, Thissen believes it is vital to develop strategies to remain safe and resilient, without losing the ability to remain gentle and true to who you are. For him, wonder, fantasy and imagination are valuable tools for visualising a future.

Bones of Graphene, Skin of Kevlar is the second chapter in Thissen's extensive project Watch it Collapse, a five-year study of transgender and queer visibility in relation to the dystopian political climate of our time.

🗓 When: Friday, April 10
🚪Doors: 19:30

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Host or Publisher MU Hybrid Art House