Tender Monsters and Filthy Queers

Tender Monsters and Filthy Queers

For centuries, monster have held a recurring role in our shared imagination: symbolizing the limits one shouldn’t cross and the excesses to refrain from. The dehumanizing treatment afforded to monsters alerts humans to what might befall them if they also step out of line. This has been the case with queer folk, who were labelled “monsters”, “freaks”, “filthy”, “sinful”, endured physical violence and in many cases even criminalization.

Eventually, corporations started to sell LGBTQIA+ lifestyles and joy as targeted products and events. Now, queer folk’s humanity is conditional to leaving the label of “monster” behind and welcoming that of “consumer” instead.

For their programming at U?, curator Jô Páscoa asks: How can queer folk reclaim queer pride rooted in social transgression rather than adhering to commodified and politically neutral queer joy? How can queer folk reclaim the label of monster? To unravel these questions, Jô invited their peers: queer artists that explore and reclaim the monster archetype through visual arts, performance and community organizing. 

The program starts with the Tender Monsters’ Play Date, meet your inner monster, a workshop facilitated by artists and community organizers LuLeane and MB. The workshop is divided in two parts: crafting a monster mask and acting games. By focusing on acts of un-masking and un-passing they want to invite participants to create a monster and explore what they become when they stop policing their own behavior and appearance.

Then, artist and performer Carla Menas will welcome the public for a participatory feast that re-asserts the queer monsters’ right to unconditional indulgence. Be prepared to feast like monsters would before a night of mischief, without concern for decorum.

Afterwards we will make space for a commissioned performance-piece by Seré, an artist who focuses on condensing disparate archetypes and symbols into a single character for each performance. Through a greedy accumulation of references Seré dis-orients legibility to provoke deep and visceral reactions in her audience. In this new work, she will summon the monster and other archetypes to explore what it is to be an eater: man-eater, pussy-eater, earth-eater, world-eater, or even the ouroboros: the snake that bites its own tail.

Finally, the dance floor opens up for fast and chaotic BPMs by the members of DnDykes collective: SlugSpit, MPMP and Taccie’s world of pain. Their work centers around community organizing with a focus on queer filthiness and disobedience. From mud-wrestling competitions down to improvised drag shows, they provide community spaces without concern for commercialization or acceptability. Their participation as the closing act of this program will be an invitation to become indigestible.

The space will be decorated with illustrations by LuLeane and Ellie Mc Guinness as well as animated projections by Melissa Lettieri.

Sign-up sheets for the workshop and performative feast will be shared early October.

Photo by Jip Moeken

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