EXHIBITION
THE PEOPLE LOOK LIKE FLOWERS AT LAST
An exhibition as part of De Roze Filmdagen 2024
Proudly presenting works of Misty Superdeluxe, Jonnah Bron, Gala Faraus, Tengbeh Kamara, Venus Jasper and Prins de Vos. Curated by Aynouk Tan.
In The People Look Like Flowers At Last, six artists show their perception of the world around them, of each other and of themselves. Their queer identity inevitably impacts their perception. They shine a light on what lives between or beyond gender, causing a new reality to emerge. This is a place that is often literally naked; where vulnerability and intimacy can finally reveal themselves freely. Sometimes it takes the shape of bruises, sometimes it takes on the shape of golden sunlight. An alliance is formed with flora and fauna, because they (also) exist without (traditional) ideas about identity and gender. Or as a character in Gala Faraus' film says: “In the forest I am not trans. In the forest I am. That’s all.”
The exhibition includes a variety of images, including (nude) photography that explores the human form and expression.
Prins de Vos
Prins de Vos (1991) is a Dutch photographer living in Amsterdam. Their work touches on themes such as intimacy, sexuality and gender. Prins' first photo book Enclose (2013) was launched in photography museum Foam, and included a poetic introduction, written by Dutch author Arthur Japin. In 2022, Prins published their second photo book BOYS DO CRY, about Levi, who is an artist, poet and trans man." Currently, Prins is working on a new photo series and short documentary called On Hold, about trans and non-binary people who are on waiting lists for a gender clinic.
Gala Faraus
Gala Faraus researches and stages the art of thriving from a social position of non-conformity. Through dance, (auto)biographical writings, interviews, curation or facilitation, their hybrid works tell stories of resistance and recovery from neuroqueer and gender non conforming peers, staging their strategies in ephemeral ecosystems.
These take various shapes and formats: a contemplative durational improvisation in a deserted circus, a digital object shared through online tours, a documentary film based on intimate interviews, an exuberant solo show or a performative exhibition about a fictional art icon. Self- and collective preservation are the core motivation for each of Gala's projects.
Their works explore relations of interdependency, communal and personal needs, potentials for recovery and for mutual nourishment through pleasure practices, collective singing or speculative writing. Artmaking is a tool for Gala Faraus, as well as a magic spell for manifestation: by creating opportunities of relief, connectedness, joy and pleasure, they intend to suspend time and various constraints, pressures and oppressions - facilitating alternative worlds for minoritarians.
Jonnah Bron
Jonnah Bron (1994) is a photographer and self-taught filmmaker based in Amsterdam. Out of a great need to be better represented as a queer person, Bron began to focus her camera on her loved ones and herself. Her interest lies mainly in making intimate portraits and everything that comes with it, by exploring subjects like sexuality, identity and relationships.
Tengbeh Kamara
Tengbeh Kamara is a Dutch-Liberian photographer (1996) based in Amsterdam. Their work is known for the strong and honest portraits of powerful people. Tengbeh’s artistic practice balances between documentary, autobiographical and political fields. Being a black and queer photographer, Tengbeh often documents those experiences.
However, their curiosity also draws them to explore more identities and social issues than just their own. Tengbeh’s work questions boundaries, both in the medium of photography, as in society. While photographing, Tengbeh focuses on the concept of authenticity and honesty, rather than the idea of perfection.
Tengbeh is part of a new generation of photographers characterized by their inclusive, daring and critical eyes. Tengbeh makes visible what has systematically been ignored, resulting in beautiful, powerful and colorful photographs.
Venus Jasper
Venus Jasper (Griepink) is a queer visual artist, storyteller, world builder, performative priestess and researcher currently based in Amsterdam. They create immersive and multi-sensorial art installations, including audiovisual pieces, participatory performance, experimental soundscapes, speculative fiction, sculpture, and drawing. With their work, Venus wants to provide more spaces and experiences for embodied belonging with the environment and each other, offering resilience, recuperation, and the sharing of wisdom. Their research spans the intersecting fields of queer ecology, environmentalism, land-based ways of knowing, trauma, rejected wisdom, science fiction, the more-than-human, sexuality, and identity politics.
In recent years, their work has increasingly involved music production and the development of songs, spoken word pieces, poems, spells, and invocations that are presented in participatory ritual get-togethers. As a hybrid between a musician and a nature priestess, Venus immerses audiences in stories and experiences that weave the folkloric world of druids and Dutch swampy nature spirits together with sentiments of eco-grief, queerness, trauma and anti-capitalist fervor.
Venus obtained an MFA from the Piet Zwart Institute, in 2013. They've made certified explorations of Somatic Psychotherapy, Reiki Healing, Permaculture Design, Music Production and Speculative Writing. Internationallytheir work was presented at Rupert (LT), LungA festival (IS), MuHKA (BE), Tidens Krav (NO), The Manse (USA), Te Whare Toi (NZ) and in the Netherlands at MU Hybrid Art House, Goethe Institute, Garage Rotterdam, Lustwarande, TENT, Onomatopee, Mediamatic, IMPAKT, W139, WhyNot Festival, 1646, KunsthuisSYB, and others.
Misty Superdeluxe
Misty Superdeluxe / Peter Scherrebeck is an artist working in the field of choreography, performance and audiovisual practices. They are based in-between Amsterdam and Copenhagen. Mistys’ artistic practice intertwines the intimate with the political, and is often situated within para-ontological realms, where ethereal matter holds significance and where fiction intersects with hyperreality. During their choreography study at SNDO, Amsterdam University of the Arts, they undertook an internship with a clairvoyant medium, which sparked their interest in channeling. They began embodying characters and "para-queer" beings from different temporalities. Since then, Misty is dedicated to creating choreographic structures that encapsulate personal and collective memories and their residue.
They have shown their own works in various places such as Frascati Theatre (NL), Dansehallerne (DK), Kunstinstituut Melly (NL), Ufer Studios (DE), BoraBora (DK) and Veem House for Performance (NL). Recent works include: Souvenir (2021) and Hide My Face (2022) for which they won the SYB Hellinga Art Prize in 2022. Misty received the DanceWEB scholarship In 2023.
