Madame
","credits":"","description":"Solo Show Mathilde Agius & Performance program
Madame is a series of portraits produced between 2024 and 2025 by photographer Mathilde Agius.The first chapter, presented in Forde, was developed in the cities of Shanghai, Hangzhou, Chongqing, and Chengdu. It documents the local drag scenes and features imaginary worlds situated between contemporary China and Euro-American pop aesthetics. The practice of drag, combining subversion, spectacle, and satire, offers a lens through which current dynamics can be read. On stage, drag queens appear both exposed and concealed: beneath layers of makeup and accessories, their characters become vectors of implicit narratives. They speak to the pressures, strategies of evasion, and vulnerabilities inherent to queer creation under a fragmented authoritarian regime, while reflecting an ironic and critical image of both Chinese and global society.
For this presentation at Forde, Yihao the founder of Queerest has been invited to perform and take part in a roundtable discussion, offering direct insight into the scene he helps sustain. The collective Pharos is also invited to present Some Kind of Bliss, directed by Shuwent.
Project supported by Pro Helvetia
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