Bebeschwendaam

Bebeschwendaam investigates the complex interpersonal dynamics of sexuality and gender through intimate, playful, and awkward negotiations with strap-on antlers. Performed with Ksanti, the work is staged in a white-walled studio with theatrical lighting and high-definition video. Together, the performers embody a standoff in the wild, both strapped into moose antlers, reflecting on kink, power exchange, and the ongoing dialogues of consent between queer bodies.

The standoff recalls the rut, when moose spar for dominance. These encounters, both violent and instructive, reveal instincts for dominance and submission. The artist sees parallels to BDSM, where dominant/submissive dynamics are about negotiated power rather than physical sensation alone. Like moose sparring, boundaries and rules are set before engagement; limits are respected even in confrontation.

In the video, the loud crash of antlers resists western scripts of intimacy and opens space for new negotiations. The antlers become a lens for radical love, self-determined representation, and kinship outside heteronormative frames. By centering queer Indigenous embodiments, Bebeschwendaam interrupts patriarchal relations and the fetishizing gaze.