The Private is Public is Political
8.5.2024 – 26.5.2024
Opening: 8.5.2024, 18:00h
Drag Show at the opening: Honey Mustard and Lady Nutjob
The Private is Public is Political is a train of thought that acts as a red thread through the precarious nature of the discourse surrounding sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and the ignorance and shame that accompanies them. Ideologies and institutions of intimacy embedded in the hegemonic heteronormative structures of Western societies propose the mirage of a pre-political state of humanity that one can lean in and out of depending on the topic at hand. But histories and presents where bodies are policed, demonized, or ignored, demand a full integration of vulnerable topics of sexual health into the public sphere, to be discussed, and reflected on holistically, with explicit goals of destigmatization, education, and political action. The exhibition aligns itself with these goals, practicing and testing art and curation as awareness-raising tools. The three exhibited works resulted from an open call by the association HPV-Impfung jetzt! that sought art project proposals on the topic of sexual health, ultimately selected by a jury of experts with voices from the fields of art, curation, healthcare, and politics, and subsequently supported by Paula Netzl and Lili Pick in the process of their realization. HPV-Impfung jetzt! is an NGO founded in May 2023 to advance education in Austria about HPV and other STDs, with the aim of breaking taboos and stigmas.
Participating artists and project:
Viral Threads – Simon Pfeifer, Selina Rinösl
Gemeinsam. – Benjamin Gugerell, Oliver Telegdy
Das Monster unter dem Bett. – Sophia Niederkofler
Drag Show at the opening: Honey Mustard and Lady Nutjob