*i pack (SK / AT / RO)

*i pack as in a group of wild queers on the hunt for patriarchal, hetero-normative, racist biases in institutional spaces

The i pack* is a newly formed autonomous body hosting 3 identities, which fluidly grow together through interdisciplinary artistic and critical engagement. The i pack* connects the artists Robert Gabriš, Luboš Kotlár and Cat Jugravu in their desire to construct new narratives of the non-binary queer Roma body. i pack* works on concepts of identity, queries of belonging and queer desire against the backdrop of racist biases and the cishet-normative patriarchal society. It hopes to build a stable foundation for a protected space without barriers for its communities and allies.

Ľuboš Kotlár

In recent years I've been primarily working on concepts originating from the field of queer theory, while the terminology and strategies based mainly around the concepts of queer time and queer space is being applied to address current global crises around anthropocene, climate change etc. While my background is in photography, my work is currently multidisciplinary, often produced in collaborative manner with artists coming from various backgrounds including fine art, design, architecture, fashion, dance, theatre, music etc. The works, which are often created for a site-specific presentation, are mostly presented in form of complex events, that don't belong to a specific genre, while the distinction between artist, curator, performer and spectator is being erased and seemigly the social hierarchy is not appliable.

2016 – 2018 Photography and New Media (master's degree), Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Bratislava, Bratislava, SK
2017 Photography, Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design, Jerusalem, ISR (student exchange)
2012 – 2016 Photography and New Media (bachelor's degree), Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Bratislava, Bratislava, SK
2014 Visual Culture and Contemporary Art, Aalto school of Art Design and Architecture, Helsinki, FI (student exchange)

Selected exhibitions:
2021  nowlessness, act iii: hot in here, fallout shelter under Kunsthalle Bratislava, Bratislava, SK
2021  Roma Resistance and Resilience, ERIAC Berlin, Berlin, DE
2020  Different Worlds 2020, Photon - Centre for Contemporary Photography, Ljubljana, SI
2020  Future Perfect Simple Continuous, Slovak National Museum, Bratislava, SK
2019  Keres Kultura! Robíme kultúru!, Stredoslovenská galeria, Banská Bystrica, SK
2019  nowlessness, act ii: the waves, MEDIUM Gallery, Bratislava, SK
2018  nowlessness, act i: calm after the storm, Undeadarena.com, Bratislava, SK

Residencies:
2022  Artak350, Grundarfjordur, IS
2021  Villa Romana, Florence, IT

Robert Gabris

I was born in former Czechoslovakia, today i live and work in Vienna as a freelance artist. I graduated (B.A.) from the Academy for Applied Arts in Bratislava in 2010 (SK) and received my Diploma (Mag.art.) from the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna in 2015 (AT). I describe the content of my work as a critical confrontation with identity issues, especially confrontations of different groups, excluded from society. The starting point of my work deals with new experimental forms of drawing as resistance to exclusion and racism. I belong to the Roma ethnic group, but don’t define myself as a Roma artist. My work shows a much more constant interest in multiple questions of diverse and convertible identity, the queer body and its existence, possessed in different physical and mental bodies, in relation to normative society and its boundaries. My medium of choice is conceptual drawing and its experimental implementation, the de-construction of forms and the quest to push all possible limits. My works are mostly autobiographical, imagined as a constant and obsessive searching for exact proportion and symmetry.

Biography:
Born 1986 in Hnusta Likier (SK) living and working in Vienna (AT)
2010 – 2014 Academy of fine Arts Vienna, Stagedesign / Diploma / (AT)
2006 – 2010 Academy of performing Arts in Bratislava, Stagedesign and Costume / Bachelor / (SK)

Exhibitions:
2022  Documenta Fifteen / Kasel (DE)
2022  Art Basel / Basel (CH)
2022  Spark Art Fair / Vienna (AT)
2021  Inventing Human: Sketches / Strabag Kunstforum / Vienna (AT)
2022  Whiteness as Property / Künstlerhaus Wien / Vienna (AT)
2021  CJCH Awardshow / Moravska Galeria / Brno (CZ)
2021  Insectopia / Villa Romana / Florence (IT)
2021  To Be Like Water / Tent Rotterdam (NL)
2021  Actually, The Dead Are Not Dead 3 / Würtembergischer Kunstverrein /Stuttgart (DE)

Arist in residence / Awards:
2021  MeetFactory, Prague (CZ)
2021  Kair Kosice, Kosice (SK)
2020  Villa Romana, Florence (IT)
2017  Gallery8, Budapest (HU)
2017  Lokomotiv, Örnsköldsvik (SWE)
2016  Jaw Dikh - Czarna Gora (PL)
2015  Swatch Art Peace Hotel, Shanghai (CHN)
2014  Stamperia d’arte Albicocco, Udine (IT)
2021  Jindřich Chalupecký Award / Brno (CZ)
2021  Recognition Art Award / Strabag International SE / Vienna (AT)

Cat Jugravu

My current interest is centred around the intersection of performance, deep bodywork and politics of trauma and social activism, with a particular focus on LGBTQIA+ communities. It informs a practice built on four significant strands of influence: my formal education in the Stanislavski Actor Training, the further research and tutoring into physical theatre methods, the pedagogical and exploratory ensemble work
and my storyline as a queer Roma, non-binary individual. In my seven years of artistic exploration, I have been focusing on generating creative work in response to the needs and rights of my community under the firm belief that through/with/for the queer body, new socio-cultural methods and practices will surface.

Biography:
I am a performance artist, actor, poet and theatre director born in 1991 in Romania. I hold an MA in Applied Theatre: Artistic Practice and
Society from the Mozarteum University in Salzburg, Austria, and a BA in Stage Acting from The National University of Theatre and Film I.L.Caragiale in Bucharest, Romania. Since 2015 I have been living in Berlin, performing in and directing independent performative encounters and spoken word theatre productions. There i founded the Queerdos Kollektiv, alongside which I am presently honing my skills as director and facilitator.

I have/am collaborating with institutions in:
Bucharest – The National Theatre, Odeon Theatre, Nottara Theatre, Berlin – Volksbühne, The English Theatre, Kantine Berghain, Ballhaus Naunynstrasse, The Ballery, Brotfabrik, Schinkel Pavillion, Maxim Gorki Theater, Glasgow – The Glasgow Biennale
Prague – tranzit.cz, Meet Factory, Prague Biennale, Vienna – Queer Museum Wien

Date of residency: 1.6.2022 – 30.6.2022