‘Bubbleupdate’ was born out of curiosity as to the image and the difference in public perception and representation of Popstars and Rockstars, in which the socialization in a heteronormative society, with its binary of sex and gender, society’s expectations regarding said constructs as well as the resulting power imbalance seems to play a major role.
Instead of focusing on the workmanlike profession of the Rockstars, let’s give all our attention towards the magnificent category of POP1.
But even POP must be seen as intertwined with said power imbalance.
Historically, POP got strongly connected with the concept of ‘feminity’, hence is mostly described with week as in ‘feminine’ adjectives. Whereas Rock has been masculinized, hence required strong and ‘masculine’ adjectives.
No wonder the prevailing image of a Rockstar in the minds of most is first and foremost that of a man. An image carefully modeled, inflated, established and kept in place by constant repetition.
POP as a product of mass culture lacks this kind of elitist status and is pejoratively contrasted with other art movements of high culture.
POP, a diffuse and fluctuating concept – in times of social media, cookies and algorithms expanded to include a very personal touch in its definition. Depending on which bubble you’re in, something entirely different from the person next to you will seem like an ultimate component of modern pop culture, stretching it into different niches more than measure it by numerical popularity.
‘Bubbleupdate’ shows my own pop culture bubble. Music that fuses Pop, Rap and Metal. Performed by women, queers, inter, nonbinary and trans people. Loud, colorful, satirical – challenging heteronormativity.
Musicians who celebrate POP and reclaim it.
It shows the knowledge about the heteronormative construct our society is built on – having to live somewhere in it and having to find one‘s way and yet somehow being dissatisfied with it, not wanting to accept it without comment and not letting oneself be determined by others. The work thus also reflects my own dissatisfaction, knowing that the concept of sex and gender serves to keep certain people in power.
A tension is created which show the ambivalence of things. Being ok – not being happy per se – with one’s own body, but simultaneous rejecting society’s expectations placed on this exact body and gender.
It’s about being ok and being angry at the same time.
1Pop is everything and nothing at all and can’t be described properly in this context – probably nor in any other ever
installation, 2021
this is meant to be an add-on for ‚bubbleupdate‘.
bubbleupate – upgrade is an experimental soundinstallation which deals with the thesis of screaming as a genderless sound. take one voice and get everything you can out of it. e.g. by using your own vocal range or digital as well as analog sound effects such as autotune, hall, fuzz or distortion. playing aorund with vocoder, effect pedals and software – cut, copy, overlay and warp until you can’t assume any gender of the source.
soundinstallation 32:29min- looped, 2022
the sound of someone eating – delicious, not. the sound of someone eating a banana, with their mouth open – invaluable nerve-wracking.
for people with misophonia it is a challenge to survive these kind of situations. for this instance it is very important to find your very own ways to cope with normal social activities like having dinner together. to get in a state of meditation, to build a mindset in which you can relax to sounds you may enjoy more than the ones your currently confronted with in real life. a comfort zone in your head, an oasis of well-being, which – all of a sudden – is collapsing again, because the disturbing noises from the outer side are taking over again, trying to mess with your head, trying to bring you back in the horrible place this world can be in certain situations. but hey stay strong, if you just believe it, you can bring yourself to a beautiful and calm place, just go back there.
videoinstallation, loop, 2019
this was another attempt for me to give my thoughts a threedimensional body as well as a voice. these ceramics were made with the intention to portait the main cahracters in a video. a video which was supposed to be talking about my thoughts and feelings, with objects that are me, plus an illustration of what is going on in my head.
this was not my first try to do such a video, but again i failed to find the true face of my deepest emotions. at this point i don‘t want to give any further information on what form this video should have taken, because i did not yet give up on the idea of pulling a good video some day, which is finally dealing with all the problems i have with his world and our society.
glazed ceramics, 2019
growing up with 3 sisters i was a very lucky child. my sisters, the youngest of them twelve years older than i am, are probably the best someone could wish for. the only thing that bothers me is, that i wasn‘t part of their childhood, that they lived the most important part of their lives without me. to deal with this issue i wanted to take something from my siblings‘ history of growing up and integrate it in my work. building a bridge from the time we weren‘t together to the time when our paths crossed. when i was born, in 1994 my oldest sister was already seventeen years old, soon becoming to be an adult, i only know her as being tattooed. so as a teenager growing up in the 90s she obviously got some nice tribals decorating her body. i was fascinated by their form, the way they can be very floral, but edgy and even brutal at the same time. as a matter of fact, these forms blend well with the charakters and language i use in my regular drawings. so i tried to combine both, using the form of the oldschool tribal tattoo, translating it into my own artistic language and bring them to life in a threedimensional way.
mixed media sculptures, 2018
404 ERROR
The lazy fucker I am did not yet document this body of work
the handling of one‘s own body is very intimate yet at the same time very important. we spend our entire life with and in this body. our body is the instrument to pass each task.
no body – no action.
but still it is so hard to accept the human body as it is and to learn how to cope with it.
if there is harmony between body and soul life, the chance to live a much easier and more balanced life is higher than ever. there is one simple rule about living with one‘s own body, which is accepting the body the way it is. the carpet as a symbol of comfort, the anchor in your own space, is a safe place to feel snugged and valuable to embrace your first steps into your healthy self-confidence.
hand-knotted rug, 2,3×3,1m, 2017