“In order to establish a society in which the marginalized can exist freely it is necessary to create a new world. It can not only be repurposed and reclaimed, but it has to be rebuilt.
”
EMBRACE ME is a series of images that explore gender-non-conformity and queerness. It shows imaginative landscapes and hybrid representations of bodies through which stories of queer, non-binary, trans and other gender-non-conforming individuals are told. The exhibition functions as a portal to a world in which gender is not a set of rules in a power dynamic, but a free form of expression. Where the gender binary expands beyond its constricting logic and where gender gets questioned, repurposed, dismantled, reclaimed and abolished.
Together with other individuals of the LGTBQIA+ community, Lena Kuzmich created a series of images that seeks to invite viewers into a world in which everyone can be who they want to be without being questioned or having to justify themselves. A world that allows space to be honest, vulnerable and reflective. Somewhere where each body can feel safe to fight existing shapes in order to find their own true form. Because being yourself is loving yourself.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Lena Kuzmich (1998) is a video and photography based multimedia artist from Vienna, Austria and is currently located in The Hague, Netherlands where they study photography at The Royal Academy of Art. In their work they often create imaginative worlds in order to establish a new and redefined society in which the power-dynamics of gender and sex get dissolved in individualism and appreciation. Their work is an exploration beyond taboos and functions as an act of liberation from the preconceived and stigmatized notions of society about the human body, gender and sexuality. Their often visually overloaded, childish aesthetics inspired by pop- and subculture are a counterpart to the dark, psychological topics they work with.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS OF THE ARTIST
"The realization of this project would not have been possible without the help of others. Therefore I would like to express my special thanks and gratitude to Síofra Augusteijn, Edward Slaviero, Daniel Walton, Dimke van Harten, Miss Toto Rodgers, IFBB Pro Maria Wattel and Jocelyn Yan for collaborating with me on this project and for meeting me with trust during this process. You are fabulous! ❤ I would also like to extend my gratitude to Levi Kramer for supporting me on many ends and to the team of Improper Walls, especially to Ale Zapata for giving me the possibility to premiere this project in their gallery during these crazy circumstances. Furthermore I would like to thank Basis Kultur Wien and the Ma7 for supporting this project financially."
GRAPHIC BY
Radek Gorniak
EVENTS’ SCHEDULE
Virtual opening and online show
January 20th 2021 @7 pm
Lazy to come and check the exhibition through our window or don't have time for the extra hustle? We prepared an online interactive show for you! The artist will be present online from 7pm. Chat with them :)
QUICK USER GUIDE FOR BETTER EXPERIENCE
– Browser matters! Works best with Mozilla, worst with Safari (especially desktop versions can be restrictive), Chrome should be ok (sort of).
– Poor internet connection can slow things down considerably so try to not give up! (or come back later with better wifi). If you were able to get into the room, you can try to lower material quality in: Pop-up menu in the left upper corner – Preferences – Misc – Material Quality.
– Choose the avatar and name (or just accept the default one).
– Allow access to your microphone - you can mute yourself immediately after entering the room. Unfortunately, this step is mandatory as this is initially a chatting room platform and won’t allow you to enter the space without it.
– For the exhibition purposes we disabled several features of the Hub, but you can still communicate through mic or writing into chat, pause and play the videos (artworks) and get a closer look at them through the element icon on the right upper side of the screen.
– Movement: for desktop version- use arrows or WASD keys to walk, Q turns you around by steps and to just look around the space hold left mouse key (one finger on touchpad) and move around (with another finger)
for smartphones - very similar to touchpad, use two fingers to move back and forth (scale) as well as to move around.
– In case you would somehow manage to create a new element (very unlikely), just hover over it with your cursor and hold spacebar - that will conjure up a menu with delete option (the trash bin icon in the middle)
IMPROPER SESSIONS:
Tony Renaissance
January 27th 2021 @ 8pm
Livestream from the Improper Walls
Improper Sessions is a platform for new and rising Viennese musicians to present their music to the audience of Improper Walls and Vienna via livestream. Within the walls of the existing exhibition EMBRACE ME by Lena Kuzmich, Tony Renaissance will transform the room for an evening, performing live, creating an audio-visual experience.
Tony Renaissance’s liquid emotional landscapes seduce the listener to pursue a queer and dynamic utopia. Their instrumentations are playful: here an angelic voice slips over somber beats and mystical sound-collages, a dizzy synthesizer pulses with the possibilities of an orchestral underscore. Championing “radical softness,” Tony sources from the glow of daydreams and melancholy pop alongside the collective, cosmic unconscious of cyberspace. A delight of the listener is gauging, wondrously, the precarious space between the pretend and the very serious. (Sophie Strohmeier)
Tony Renaissance is a musician and artist whose work centers on radical soft explorations of sound, vocals and images with a big crush on experimental pop. As founder of the music label Tender Matter, co-founder of the event series The Future and member of the Sounds Queer?
collective they are promoting and highlighting the work of queer and gender nonconforming artists in electronic music.
IMPROPER EXPLORING: ARTIST TALK
February 10th, 2021 @7pm
"In order to establish a society in which the marginalized can exist freely it is necessary to create a new world. It can not only be repurposed and reclaimed, but it has to be rebuilt."
We invited Lena to talk about their current projects and inspiration, the talk will be held online.
Supported by 15.Bezirk, Stadt Wien, Basis Kultur Wien