PINK ON THE SPECTRUM
THE STORY.
Since the publication in 2017 of a book with the telling title Alex is a Girl's Name, Alex Naber has enjoyed a certain fame as a gender bender with Down Syndrome. 'No public figure with Down Syndrome was so openly queer,' headlined Dutch newspaper Het Parool. She is truly a multi-talent: she writes, she draws, she dances, she acts. She loves dressing up as a woman, but is not concerned with the boundaries of her identity.
And then there is ChelseaBoy. She approaches drag from an artistic perspective: it is more about identity and being human than about the transformation from man to woman. Together they have entered into a creative process in which they investigate what the color pink and all its associations mean to them. Pink on the Spectrum not only shows their loving creations, but above all shows the boundlessness of creativity when you work with the right person.
THE FILM.
The film is currently being shown at home and abroad as part of the exhibition I hit You with a Flower.
THE PRODUCTION.
The film Pink on the Spectrum was part of the exhibition of the same name by No Limits! Art Castle, an exhibition space founded by Jan Hoek. He wants to open the doors of the art world to artists with disabilities by connecting them to other artists or fashion designers.
Jan was the matchmaker between Alex, ChelseaBoy and me. “I have always been surprised by the strict separation between artists in what is called the normal world and artists with disabilities, between the insiders and the outsiders. One makes art in his studio, the other in a care institution. In No Limits! Art Castle we remove that barrier. There are no limits.”
My role
Director, camera operator and editor
Release
July 2023
Length
13 minutes
Film location
the Netherlands
Year of production
2023
More info on
www.nolimitsartcastle.nl
A brain and a gender that won’t conform to the norm often go hand in hand. As diverse as the queer community is in terms of gender, so it is in terms of neurodiversity.
THE STILLS.
