Kunstwerk von freakylicious

Lia Quirina is an Austrian based artist and has been studying contextual painting with Ashley Hans Sheirl. In her* artistic practice she* transforms societal and gender issues into performances, installations, paintings and video. She* performs as a drag king. In our exhibition she* installs an “alienworm” costume that was used in a 2022 performance showing how the habitat of the worm changes over time, from a creepy hole to a public space. The “alienworm” is a creature in search of home. A protective, soft carapace lies around the queer body. Seemingly invisible is the "stuffed" slip under the costume. The calm waves of the spine ride through the darkness and the hot sun. While in a friendship and simultaneous love affair with a living branch, Lia Quirina confronts questions of trans* identity and gay desire. The performance was recorded in the building of the former Kirchberg am Wagram reformatory in Lower Austria and was part of the exhibition "non lieu | lieu de sens - Identitäts-Orte und Nicht-Orte in Medienkunst und Performance".

AKT 1:

Sometime in the future, a dystopian age. Outside it rages and storms. Burning hot rays of a fireball in the sky meet freezing cold nights. Hidden in an abandoned building, an alien worm comes to life. Around him it is desolate. Dead branches from earlier times are lying everywhere. In a loving friendship with a living branch, he builds his nest.

AKT 2:

A nest. Next to the “alienworm” lies a piece of wood of dead love. From deep sleep he crawls outside. Dragging his natal skin, he searches for a new place. Here he lays down his soft carapace. The fine red skin stretches like a tent over the bulky branches. Safe next to the old body, he glides into the next dream.