Algollegory

Through live performances I created the alter ego ‘Claire Despair’, a larger than life Hyper Drag Queen. With my drag persona I explore my own womanhood and what it means to be a woman in our society. Reflecting on my experience with sexual assault through the eyes of Claire, I wrote about my experiences in an alien language, allowing distance, protection, and transformation. In this case the "victim" becomes the hero.

I am drawn to the story of Medusa. Myths shift over time and across cultures; they are rewritten, misremembered, and reshaped. I search for these cracks in the stories, for what has been lost or deliberately hidden. For Claire I’m re-imagining her own myth. 

The video installation consists of a hypothetical connection with the world of Claire, her story and therefore the story of all people that have experience(s) with SA. This work is an act of reclamation. It says: I see you. I’m sorry. And I believe you.