Timon Imveldt is an artist, fashion, and costume designer living in London. Daniel Bolliger works as a Photographer, Creative Director, and Curator and lived for many years in New York City, Los Angeles, and London. Both artists approached by the Natural History Museum of Bern (Switzerland) to produce a free artistic work as a part of the exhibition «Queer – Diversity is in our nature» which is now open for one year (April 2021 to April 2022).
“It took us about one year for the organization, the production, and the realization of the art installation WESENSREISE. To be able to have created such a project during a pandemic has made it even more special and important to us. ”
“Queer people are often reduced to their bodies and gender. This project focuses on the essence/ the being of the portrayed. Bodies do not know any norms, it’s society that defines whether a body is different. The photographic installation stages five queer people, mainly trans and nonbinary people from Switzerland (Please find attached the names of the portrayed) and celebrates their being and physical aesthetics.”
“The portraits were created in collaboration and in exchange with the protagonists. It was important to develop a sensitive work in which the people determine where the journey should go. The imagery is an attempt to question the onlookers of society and the reduction of queer people to their bodies and gender. The handmade sculptures by Timon Imveldt were inspired by animals, flowers and genitals and play an essential role, as we didn´t want to expose naked bodies. Anatomy does not determine gender.
The individual life processes, the differences of queer realities among each other and the value and freedom of creating personal sanctuaries are the focus. There isn´t such a thing as the one queer experience. We all experience things differently and that’s why it is important to stay open and listen to each other and eventually understand each other better.
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“The art installation features four printed photographs on wood panels, two massive wallpapers, several handcrafted sculptures (by Timon Imveldt), five video interviews of the protagonists and custom-made jewelry by celebrity Jewelry Designer Chris Habana from New York. ”
Here you can find the videos in which each model talks about their story and experiences.
Here you can read more about the exhibition QUEER
www.nmbe.ch/en/exhibition-and-events/queer-diversity-our-nature
Credits
Art Installation «WESENSREISE»
by TIMON IMVELDT & DANIEL BOLLIGER
For the Exhibition «Queer – Diversity is in our Nature»
In collaboration with the Natural History Museum of Bern NMBE @nmbern
