Pimmel Porn Protest & Boris Gay

Current Corona prevention measures of the Kunsthalle Exnergasse

In the framework of the performance lecture “Pimmel Porn Protest”, porn beyond the mainstream will be presented, screened, contextualised, and followed by a discussion. With precise analytical tools, Sarah Held and Sylvia Sadzinski, a literary duet on a semiotic quest, reveal how porn can question social norms around sexuality and the body.

Thereafter, Drag King Boris Gay will seductively and unapologetically expose and challenge the simultaneous fragility and constructedness of traditional notions of masculinity and femininity.

This event takes place in the framework of the exhibition »pornotopia revised« (Kunsthalle Exnergasse, 31.3. - 14.5.2022)

Exhibition with contributions by Melanie Bonajo, Pauline Canavesio, Anna Ehrenstein, Rebecca Goyette, Christa Joo Hyun D'Angelo, Zoë Claire Miller, Narcissister, Stephanie Sarley, Juli Schmidt, Fannie Sosa, Jonny Star, Melissa Steckbauer, Sophia Süßmilch, Antigoni Tsagkaropoulou, Urara Tsuchiya, RA Walden

Curated by Sarah Held, Sylvia Sadzinski

»pornotopia revised« explores the space between pornography and art and its emancipatory character.
How can porno or art with pornographic means become a self-empowering feminist practice? The featured contemporary multimedia works draw on aspects and impacts of pornography, investigate narratives and representations of desire, and put the categorisation, sexualisation, and reification of bodies up for debate.

The exhibition sees pornography as a tool to elucidate social power relations and challenge prevailing norms as well as an attempt to dismantle them. The primary focus, however, is not voyeurism or provocation through nudity or sexualised actions, rather the potential for resistance and emancipation. »pornotopia revised« presents Post Porn in its material culture, reflects on notions of society and taboo, intimacy and subversion, and thereby calls the genre of pornography itself into question.

Please note: Some artistic works in this exhibition may challenge, unsettle, confuse, provoke, and sometimes upset, as they contain nudity or sexually explicit depictions that may be considered adult content in some places.

Supported by
Academy of fine arts Vienna
MA7 Magistrat, City of Vienna