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God Save The Queer(s) 2.0

From September 2023 to September 2024, I worked on my project “God SaYe the Queers - The (not so) Secret Life of Saints”. The project evolved after I realized that my original idea of finding queer saints wasn't aligned with my intentions. I found it problematic to impose post-mortem sexuality on saints, who are already being used by the church for their own agenda. Instead, I focused on reclaiming the saints by giving them back their humanity, removing them from the divine, and addressing the ambivalence of my own identity. My research book became a tool to archive and categorize saints, which I used to explore themes of ambiguity and identity. This led to the creation of works like the large-scale pieces depicting saint couples, symbolizing
aspects of my personal life. I also created an in situ work called “The Chapel of the Beloved Disciple”, Which reimagined a chapel to reflect the queer relationship between Saint John the Evangelist and Jesus. The work explored religious spaces outside the church context. My project culminated in this final piece, tying together the exploration of saints, identity, and a space for reflection and healing.
Moving forward, I aim to evolve my practice by incorporating sculptural elements, costumes, and performative aspects inspired by religious traditions. The project, now titled “God Safe the Queer(s)”, ́represents this ongoing journey of self-discovery and healing.

Results

As mentioned above, I created an in situ work: The Chapel of the Beloved Disciple ́(see portfolio), transforming one of the rooms of an old farm into an imitation of a chapel, focusing on the life of Saint John the Evangelist and his close/homoromantic relationship with Jesus. The main idea was to create a (fake) religious space that exists outside of the church as an institution. Thus, the goal was to create a simulation, an almost parallel universe that erases the borders between reality and fiction. I would like to elaborate further on this concept, creating an immersive experience of entering a seemingly religious space that is fully made up for my final presentation. Reclaiming the aesthetics and narratives of the church, which have been created by (queer) artists over centuries, and trying to free it from the propaganda used by the institution for their own agenda. So, the idea is to create a space based on my research and the work done in those two years. I would also like to produce a small publication based on my research book. A collaboration with Bebe Books could be interesting, as they focus on a queer and alternative approach to publication and publishing.

Promotor

Nico Dockx

Onderzoeker

Denys Shantar

15/09/2025 - 20/09/2026

Overview