Tag Archives: gender construction

The 60th Birthday show of legendary Berlin Drag King Bridge Markland!

Bridge Markland as Sascha for 60th Birthday special Feb 20 2021 by Suzanne ForbesOf course, Bridge Markland is far more than a Drag King.

Bridge, who I have drawn many times, is a performer in the classic tradition, a clown and puppeteer and artist’s model and archivist of Queer Berlin culture. She is an actor who can bring the ghosts of Weimar to life when inhabited by the spirit of Anita Berber, and a dancer who can grind it industrial. Sascha, above, is one of her classic characters!

And Bridge is a welcoming signpost to the young gender performers of Berlin.

Bleach for Bridge Markland 60th Birthday special Feb 20 2021 by Suzanne ForbesShe has a wonderful relationship with the Venus Boys and several joined her onstage.

Bleach, above, did a delicate transform into an ivory slip dress and loose blonde curls. I tried to capture the way their feminine beauty was visible even before the masculine drag was removed.

I am always excited to draw the amazing Venus Boys, “a collective of Berlin based Drag performers who paint from the palette of performative masculinity”.

Here’s a post about Bridge and Buba Sababa performing together last year.

Bridge Markland 60th Birthday special Feb 20 2021 by Suzanne ForbesBridge Markland, throwing away gender norms since 1995!

You love to see it. Bridge has a legendary tongue, this drawing does not exaggerate it!

It was a joy to document this show.

 

I am incredibly grateful to my Patreon Patrons, whose monthly financial support lets me keep documenting Berlin’s drag and burlesque performers while I work safely at home.

Drawing Laurence Philomene at the Non-Binary Portraits show.

Laurence Philomene at Curated By Girls show COGalleries Berlin May 19 2017 Suzanne ForbesI have been a huge fan of Montreal photographer Laurence Philomene since their first showing in Berlin, at the inaugural IRL Curated by GIrls show.

Kink cz zine feat Curated By Girls and Laurence PhilomeleI’ve been following Laurence on Instagram and delighting in their Non-Binary Portrait Series. These luminous works are alive with compassion and love. With Laurence’ permission, one of the works is reproduced below. It doesn’t compare to seeing them in a bright gallery, printed large, though! They are so fucking exhilarating.

Each work was exhibited with the model’s name and their pronouns of choice. You can see the bts video here! The show was at coGalleries on Torstr., in our old neighborhood. I bought a piece and also snapped up a zine from Kink.cz. Which Laurence signed!

Thanks so much for letting me draw you on your first trip to Berlin, Laurence!

Portrait by Laurence Philomene 2017

Portrait by Laurence Philomene from the Non-Binary Portraits Series, 2017 Copyright the artist, all rights reserved.

Broadly has a nice interview with Laurence here, and there’s a story on CBC Arts here. You can buy prints here on Society6 and here on Post Collective.

If you are interested in gender study, trans pride, portraiture, or color photography, Laurence Philomene is seriously someone to watch. Thank you Laetitia and Suzanne for curating their work in Berlin!