Artists: Sophie Koko, Kira Porbasas, Daisy Riley, Fadescha und Barış Mürtekin.

Curator: Lis Kleiner (they/them)

“I’m the space (that) I’m breathing”

Queer bodies are powerful manifestations of our identities that occupy, transform and redefine spaces.

I'm the space (that) I'm breathing brings together a selection of artists whose works address the complexity and importance of identity designs, utopias, lived realities, pain and beauty. The collection of works invites us to experience and reflect on the fluidity of queer identities.

In a system where white-supremacist, ableist, hetero- and cis-normative* structures still attempt to dominate, the videos presented offer powerful and individual counterpoints: They are expressions of resistance, activism, and sensitivity.

The artists represented in this exhibition come from different cultural backgrounds and each bring their own experiences and stories. Their works invite viewers to experience a wide range of perspectives and moods.

Each video is a window into the multi-layered realities that characterize queerfeminist perspectives. The different videos tell of the exploration of one's own identity, the reflection of social injustices, of playful and utopian world designs, of fluidity in being, collective connectedness and the power of self-determination. Different stylistic devices and narrative forms are used to unite the diversity of artistic expression in queer windows.

The works shown in I'm the space (that) I'm breathing make it clear that queerfeminist art not only responds to social challenges, but is also a powerful source of inspiration and change.

1* Ableism: Ableism (…) originates from the US disability movement. It describes the discrimination of people with disabilities by measuring people against certain abilities - walking, seeing, interacting socially - and reducing them to their impairment.

https://diversity-arts-culture.berlin/woerterbuch/ableismus

2* Heteronormativity: Heteronormativity is a norm in our society. It is assumed that all people are endosexual, cisgender, heterosexual, allosexual and alloromantic. It is therefore assumed that every person has only one of two genders, namely either male or female, and that this gender can be read from the genitals at birth. It is also assumed that these genders are fundamentally different from each other and relate to each other sexually and romantically. There is also the expectation that all people are or want to be in monogamous, romantic and sexual relationships. Deviations from this, for example queer and polyamorous relationships as well as trans people, are made invisible and/or discriminated against.

https://queer-lexikon.net/2017/06/15/heteronormativitaet/