From 28-30 March 2025 FOTODOK presents an installation by Julius Thissen at Art Rotterdam's Intersections. This occasion marks the first public showing of Thissen’s Bones of Graphene, Skin of Kevlar project, as well as FOTODOK’s first participation in the Art Rotterdam programme.

Thissen’s new body of work studies the historical resilience of the transgender community – a community threatened further by the contemporary rise of fascism and extreme right-wing politics. Bones of Graphene, Skin of Kevlar is the second chapter in Thissen’s extensive Watch it Collapse project – an exploration of the stagnation in the safety and emancipation of transgender individuals. This four-year research focuses on transgender and queer visibility, with a particular emphasis on the dystopian political climate of our time.

“With this work, my goal is to create strong contemporary transgender figures and symbolic still lifes that channel the ancestral power of our queer elders, pushing back against the dangers of our time. I want to capture and translate the tensions and threats we are facing. In a time marked by fear-mongering, violence, media manipulation, bans on gender-affirming healthcare and an increasing detachment from fact, it is vital to develop strategies for staying safe and resilient – without losing the ability to remain soft and true to who we are.” – Julius Thissen

Curator of the presentation at Art Rotterdam is FOTODOK’s Daria Tuminas, editor English texts is George H. King, production, communication and organisation is in the hands of FOTODOK. The final result of this series will be exhibited at MU Hybrid Art House in July 2026.

Bones of Graphene, Skin of Kevlar is made possible with the support of MU Hybrid Art House, the City of Arnhem and the Mondriaan Fund. FOTODOK is structurally supported by the City of Utrecht and the Mondriaan Fund

ART ROTTERDAM:
Rotterdam Ahoy – Ahoyweg 10, 3084 BA Rotterdam

28-30 March

11.00 – 19.00