Strangelfreak: From Private to Public

Some moments in life, you feel like you are part of something greater than you.

Lets just say mine is filled with those, and at the same time | understand my role in this circuitry is of observer and motivator, collecting memories in order to share them with others and; by doing so; allowing them to accept parts of themselves that were hidden inside.( Or were simply too shy to come out)

| must admit that it took me a while to be comfortable with myself, in order to enjoy

sexuality as an experimental field that could connect you with others in endless possibilities.

Not as something depraved and sinful, but as a multi-culti-gender-bender-private-public

celebration of life and its array of possibilities.

Most of my pictures are a combination of sexuality and raw colours mixed with a total lack of

respect for photography rules, meaning that the pictures | take correspond to an intimate,

chaotic, and in my perspective, more natural look at individuals. all pictures are made with

people who have an active part in my life (friends), whom | thank for opening up the window

of their private lives and allowing me to recreate a prejudice free perspective on life.

Luis Pedro de Castro aka Strangelfreak

From Private to Public

Surrounded by sexual content in all media and advertising, I

found a general misuse of the theme, and a blatant pressure to make

others feel inadequate in relation to their bodies, feelings, or

preferences.

Human art installations: Naked Berlin

NAKED BERLIN is a statement. Naked means in this context honest. There is no need for labels nor social constructs. We need to disrobe all of our prejudices against the natural nudity of the human body. We have to deconstruct our patterns.

NAKED BERLIN is a homage to the city and its freedom. We all still live in bubbles around the city although it appears as a multicultural megapolis, In the last 10 years the city has been changing rapidly. The notorious gentrification has come and brought many changes within. We are fighting back but how long should this fight go and who is responsible for the results ?

NAKED BERLIN is a political body. Personal still remains political. But there is no personal solutions this time. There is a collective solution through collective actions. Our bodies are intersectional places that are bio-psycho-socially imbued and therefore, politically involved. Our experiences of power or disempowerment are invariably embedded in our bodies and how we choose to cover them. Being naked has become a tool of democracy. Once you are nude, nobody can read your labels be it class, nationality, education etc. The only thing that’s left is human.

NAKED BERLIN is about diversity and body positivity. We are part of a social movement and we challenge the ways in which society presents and views the physical body and genders. We advocate the acceptance of all bodies no matter the form, size, religion, sexual orientation or sexual identity, gender, color, or appearance. Our bodies are judged by others, and so we try to work and represent the most vulnerable groups as POC ́s, trans* and queer , and people with disabilities. Our goal is to address unrealistic beauty standards and build up the confidence of oneself and others.

NAKED BERLIN consists of 3 parts. First part is WATERFALL. In 2018 we covered an artificial waterfall in the Victoria Park, Kreuzberg with naked body and turned it into a Human Fall. The second part is WEIL ICH DICH LIEBE and deals with subway stations in Berlin. In 2019 we did over 16 interventions during the night hours at different subway stations. In the third part we worked in 2020 with the body and architecture and did series of actions called URBAN BODIES at diverse spots all over Berlin. Being honest involves the capacity to be vulnerable, authentic, and honest with yourself.

NAKED BERLIN is a temporary human art installations (2018-2020) by Abdulsalam Ajaj and Mischa Badasyan

Book Launch “Coming in: Sexual Politics and EU Accession in Serbia”

During this event, we will celebrate the launch of Dr Koen Slootmaeckers’ new book Coming in. Together with expert panellists, we will reflect on LGBT politics in Serbia and Europe over the past 20 years, as well as on the complex politics that accompanied EuroPride 2022 in Belgrade Serbia.

The book launch will be accompanied by a preview of the HEIF funded exhibition Unstraight Stories from EuroPride Belgrade, which combines the pictures of artist Dawood and the research of Dr Slootmaeckers to bring a snapshot of the EuroPride day.

Through the combination of the visual and words, agnostic of their temporal sequencing, the exhibition invites participants to reflect on their experience of EuroPride, Politics, Activism, Police, LGBTQI identities, Defiance, Fear, Beauty and Pride.

Panel members: Dr Indraneel Sircar (University College London) Dr Paul Copeland (Queen Mary University of London) Dr Francesca Romana Ammaturo (Coventry University)

This event took place Tuesday, 4th April 2023, 17:30 – 19:30