queer martyrs (working title!!!)

A three-channel video installation, exploring the idea of queer martyrdom, as well as the way martyrdom is created and embodied. The installation will depict the final moments of martyr St Sebastian, this time as a trans* person. St Sebastian’s trans*ness lies in a body which is built, not born, trans*figured both by its martyrdom and its depiction. The installation will focus on the triangle of interaction which creates the martyrdom, each channel showing a different point of view: the archer (the persecutor), St Sebastian (the martyr), and Irene, the healer (the witness). Each of these characters will be portrayed by queer people. The installation will interweave documentary and fiction, in which these three figures will be asked questions and discuss queerness, the queer/trans* body.

We would like to see how we can blend fiction with documentary approaches in storytelling. We would also like to see what kind of topics/feelings/affects come up when someone is playing a fictional role but as themselves, with their own agencies and subjectivities. Also, as this project will be presented in an academic conference (SAGS conference 2025), we would like to see how artistic contributions can become knowledge and how this will engage with other academic works being presented.