Sapphic Entanglements p2p

Queer studies scholar Kadji Amin calls for “fuck[ing] with the universalizing presumptions of the taxonomical method from within by generating idiosyncratic interpretations and translations that explode the epistemological and ontological foundations of taxonomy itself.” (Amin 2023) Sapphic entanglements answers this call by facilitating and creating community discussions that detangle and retangle sapphic dimensions of intimacy, connection, longing, dreaming and being. While sapphic as a term derived from Sappho, an ancient Greek poet exploring lesbian desire and love, it has evolved into an umbrella term for a spectrum of sexualities and genders. The works displayed in this exhibition explore sapphism as embodied knowledge, friendship, community, shame, desire, failing, falling, envy, self and something always in motion evading meaning.

Ruxin Liu is an interdisciplinary artist whose work centers on organizing workshops that delve into negative emotions and minoritarian perspectives, exploring themes of power, internalized oppression, and the transformative potential of hope. Driven by a personal desire to expand private conversations, Ruxin collaborates with communities, fostering spaces that amplify silenced voices and bring new resources into the dialogue. Their workshops are often documented to capture the unique energy of collective empowerment, challenging conventional perceptions of conflict. This documentation not only supports the workshops’ development but also inspires new avenues for social and political discourse, where real-world struggles and aspirations are explored. The outcomes of these explorations are shared through moving image works, including video and 3D media, as well as reflective texts, offering a multifaceted approach to addressing oppressive realities and envisioning empowered futures.

ana zeno de courcy is currently studying Time Based Media at Hochschule für Bildende Kunst, Hamburg (GER) with Prof. Kader Attia. They are interested in vulnerability, permeability and fragility of bodies. Their performative, sculptural, and linguistic practice aims to render touch, through materiality or through the presence of the body into a meaningful encounter or a moment of temporal rupture. de courcy’s installation uses performance,  latex and metal sculptures, and sound works to build systems of relation where the dialogue between the body and the material, the performer and the viewer is highlighted. Their installation combines visceral materialities, immersive spaces where traces of memories, unconscious desires, our own frail mortality is reflected. de courcy’s performances have been shown among others at Dose Projektraum, Deichtorhallen with Chto Delat,  ICAT Galerie, Kampnagel in Hamburg (GER); Anomalie, Haus der Statistik, Hosek Contemporary in Berlin (GER); and La Cambre in Brussels (BE).

Sasha Levkovich did her masters in theory and fine arts at Hochschule für Bildende Kunst, Hamburg (GER), with Bettina Uppenkamp and Simon Denny. In her artistic and theoretical practice she is interested in the ideas of liminality, embodied knowledge, communal experiences, interpretation and the materiality of language. To explore these concepts she chooses the form of filmed and live performances, video installations, performative readings, sound installations, text, painting and fabric printing. Her works have been shown among others at Goldener Pudel, Kunstverein car port, ICAT Galerie, Galerie Hinten Links in Hamburg (GER); Württembergischer Kunstverein, Theater Rampe in Stuttgart (GER); and Kunsthalle Baden-Baden in Baden-Baden (GER). Her texts have been published by Lerchenfeld Magazin 63, Eject: Zeitschrift für Medienkultur and others. She was awarded the “Deutschland Stipendium” Grant in 2023 and the “Georg Panzeram” Grant in 2024.

Clara Mannott has been studying at the Hochschule für bildende Künste, Braunschweig under Donna Kukama, Corinna Schnitt and Zuzanna Czebatul since 2018. During this time, they also studied at the Hochschule für Grafik und Buchkunst in Leipzig, at the École nationale supérieure des arts décoratifs in Paris, France and held a residency at the Fabrica Research Centre in Treviso, Italy. Clara Mannott explores queer and speculative narratives that examine the relationship between body, nature, and community. Through interdisciplinary approaches and infrapolitical scores, they investigate subtle gestures of resistance that challenge established structures and open new realms of possibility. Their work has been exhibited at the European Media Arts Festival/Campus, Osnabrück (GER), the Braunschweig International Film Festival, Braunschweig (GER), the Schnittraum, Braunschweig (GER), the Spinnereirundgang, Leipzig (GER) and the ENSAD, Paris (FR). They were also part of the exhibitions Sound of Sirens at Kunstmuseum Heylshof, Worms (GER), Ruins of Tomorrow at Galerie oqbo, Berlin (GER) and Kinship FABRICA30, Fabrica Research Centre in Villorba (IT).

This exhibition is curated and organized by Sophie McCuen-Koytek and Linn Felgendreher as part of the Kunstraum.p2p format.