Venus Patel

My proposed project deals with violence against the queer identity from religious and societal structures. My main goal with the artwork is to envision a queer reimagining of the world in which queerness is not suppressed, through a queer manifesto, and an “end of the world” state of mind. I plan to use symbolism and imagery from Christianity to enhance this.
The first part will work with film and public performance. Similar to preachers on the street, I will stand in costume, preaching this new manifesto, drawing from the 10 Commandments. The film will also compromise other performances stemming from The Book of Revelations. By putting a queer spin, I want to point the audience to the need for the end of the heteronormative world we live in.
The presentation will be a live performance, creating a space similar to a church, but with reclaimed queer imagery. Using the film, the preacher will condemn the audience for their ways.
I will use the time within the residency to research history of religious suppression of the LGBT and how I can further incorporate Biblical imagery within the work. I will use the time to plan performances, such as looking at preachers online, and trying to mimic their ways through live performance.

Born in Los Angeles with a BA in Fine Art from TU Dublin (2022), Venus Patel is an experimental film and performance artist. She uses her work to talk about her experience as a trans femme of colour, trying to navigate the world. Through the use of clothing, makeup, and loose gender expression, she encaspulates the campy blend of her queer identity. Coming from a theatre and film background, her art ties into these vast tropes from the past. Venus questions the heteronormative society we live in, why the need to conform is so heavily enforced, and how that affects the perceptions of ourself, others, and the world around us. Although her work deals with serious subject matter, she utilizes a unqiue mix of humor, absurdity, and abjection to create multi-faceted performances and experiences.

She has recently performed and collaborated in the making of “Privilege: The Musical” (2022), and “Hive City Legacy: Dublin” (2022). Her experimental short film “Eggshells”  has been selected for the Gaze International Film Festival and the RDS Visual Art Awards