Videonale 20, with support of Fluentum commissioned the Bonn, Germany edition of I AM THE FIRST LESBIAN I EVER MET. Ads were run in local papers for lesbian, queer or non binary women interested in participating in video portraits for Videonale 20. Dani and Sheilah ReStack met with the seven women from Bonn who were interested in being part of the project in November 2024. The ReStack’s recorded participants at locations of their choosing, and with objects that were important to them. These portraits and interactions were compiled into a 7 minute piece titled Open Conch which showed at Flow artspace for the duration of Videonale. In this work a main character with pink hair follows the sound of the conch to find what is natural in a non hetero patriarchal world; circles of women dreaming, the slaying of the patriarchy by a red wooden sword and the calling in of queer love through movement, fabric, sound and circle.
An important part of this iteration of I AM THE FIRST LESBIAN I EVER MET was the inclusion of two video portraits of older lesbian/ queer identified women. These portraits occupied the monitors and advertising screens of the Bonn city space for the duration of the Videonale. We have been particularly interested in how queer existence and, in particular, lesbian or non binary women can disrupt and assert existence and possibility. In the portraits for Bonn’s I AM THE FIRST LESBIAN I EVER MET we mixed images of colored smoke, text and images of queer elders facing the camera in the midst of the flow of advertising and events that exist simultaneous, always.
With many thanks to Tasja Langenbach, Theresa Samimzad and Karla, Marie, Kirsty, Rita, Katya, Anne.
Link to video footage of Open Conch at Flow Artspace and install of IATFLIEM on monitors in subway and downtown commercial screens.
