Genderqueer: M.

Lidia Krawczyk, Wojciech Kubiak, Genderqueer: M., 2007, oil / canvas, 195 x 195 cm
In their art Lidia Krawczyk and Wojciech Kubiak attempt to break cultural stereotypes concerning the perception of man and to go beyond the definitions of gender and sexuality. The Genderqueer project consists of a series of paintings, photographs, films and sculptures and was carried out by the duo in the years 2006–2008. Its heroes were people whose gender identity diverges from socially accepted patterns and the traditional division into male and female roles. The large-scale, realistic portrait titled Genderqueer: M. shows a non-binary person.

The facial features, clothes and accessories that oscillate between the masculine and feminine encourage the viewer to revise the culturally fixed patterns and gender distinctions. Thus the artists pose the question whether it is possible to resign from classifications, final decisions and statements. Each of the hyperrealistic paintings that comprise the series was based on the previously taken photographs of the models, which – published online as a specific artists' sketchbook – allowed to decode the heroes' gender. This gesture prompted reflection on the aim of dressing up, of putting on masks by the sitters. At the same time, it prompted self-reflection on the attitude towards the transparency of the raised issues.

Lidia Krawczyk (b. 1979) – artist, media expert, curator, art critic. Graduate of the Insitute of Audiovisual Arts (2004) and Gender Studies at the Institute of Sociology, Jagiellonian University (2004).

Wojciech Kubiak (b. 1978) – pursues painting. Curator and organiser of cultural activities. Graduate of the Faculty of Painting and Education at the Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow (since 2004 assistant professor at his alma mater, where in 2016 he obtained his habilitation).

Lidia Krawczyk and Wojciech Kubiak's joint activities focused on social and cultural issues: the questions of gender, sexuality, identity, social power structures and hegemony. From 2006 to 2008 the artists were working on a joint project titled Genderqueer, which was an attempt to illustrate concepts and situations that don't conform to the binding definitions of gender and sexuality.