“CHRISTELLE” an old spinster drama + the tragedy of fat SLxT + her inheritance ~ by Christelle Makris
Christelle Makris's "“CHRISTELLE” an old spinster drama + the tragedy of fat SLxT + her inheritance" was presented before live audience at Centrale Fies, Dro, Italy on August 8, 2025 as one of 24 acts, (curated by Elisa Giuliani) at the occasion of the AEROPONIC ACTS 2025: CHOREIA (convened by Gabriëlle Schleijpen).
Here you will find an introduction by the presenter, video-documentation filmed by Baha Görkem Yalım and a written report by Grant Watson.The report includes a summary of the spoken, improvised comments by esteemed guest respondents Barby Asante, Sandi Hilal, and Zairong Xiang.
“CHRISTELLE” an old spinster drama + the tragedy of fat SLxT + her inheritance
Christelle's question: WHAT IS FUN?
Christelle's intro:
Girly play or mimicry ? What is irony what is not?
What is camp? Can we camp together or not?
Are identity politics poor and narcissistic? Hell yes.
Can emancipation occur?
How about auto cancelation. Can pathetic be divine?
The personal is not political, who cares?
How can one shift from their own reality to the collective perception of the world?
The luxury to complain and contemplate is not for everyone.
Rage converted in exaggeration of the minuscule. Can life be like a telenovela? Fake it till you make it baby.
Grant's report:
The performance tales place in the large upstairs room with banks of windows. The room is divided by lines of chairs in the shape of a cross, like the seating for a fashion show. The floor is marked up with green and orange tape, also in a cross, with an orange circle at the centre, and various squares, triangles, rectangles, which contain props and accessories. Including brightly coloured wigs, musical instruments, scarves, sunglass, jars of orange liquid, plastic beakers with slices of orange. The audience take their seats and the piece begins with a group of performers walking up and down the catwalk to music wearing colourful costumes, predominantly orange and green. The artists, begins to read from a clutch of orange papers: I don’t want you to notice me (she says) I call myself a degenerate fat slut. Welcome to my cancellation. As the models continue to parade around the catwalks she continues: I am a class traitor right in your face, I am not fat, you are fat phobic, I am not old, you are ageist, I am not a whore, you are a prude. The models chant a line about her visiting her dying uncle in hospital. There are snatches of different kinds of music and more catwalk action. The models walk about picking up accessories from the floor and putting them on. The artist continues: dear artworld - and proceeds to list what the artworld is. She says: please accept me, I want your money and your power, lets fight the system to beat the system, I say enough, cancel her into oblivion. The text explores questions of cultural appropriation while the models parade in various ethnic items. The models sit on the ground and wave lighters, while the artists reads an elegy for her uncle and her aunt. The artist produces a framed photograph of her uncle seen when young, interviewing Yasser Arafat in Beirut and she passes it around. She puts on a Keffiyeh and a sweatband the colours of the Lebanese flag. She dedicates the piece to her aunt and uncle who are the centre of her life. The artist and the models make one last parade up and down the catwalk, and the performance ends.
Barby Asante thinks the piece was great in many ways. It was special because it revealed vulnerability as well as this anarchic chaotic playful performance with many layers. She appreciated the story of entering the artworld having had another life, and how the artist wishes to present herself. One life is gone but another is emergent. Also the story about the loss of the uncle which felt raw, knowing what it’s like to see someone vibrant leave the world. Her only suggestion is that the artist might want to pull it back and think about the structure more. That she might want to record the text. She liked that the artist chose to speak at tender moments in her mother tongue.
Zairong Xiang says this is how western civilization kicks itself. He remembers the reaction of some of his compatriots vis-a-vis the Paris Olympic - they were panicking because the fantasy of the west was collapsing. He thanks the artist for bringing that, it was a cathartic moment and great way to end the day, after so many serious subjects. He feels it is important to remember the serious things we carry on our shoulders, but it’s wonderful to have this combination of so many references put into a fashion show and protest theatre.
Sandi Hilal thought that there should be no speaking after the performance. She didn’t want to speak about the work as much as be the artist’s guest which would be wonderful in such an atmosphere. She never felt unsafe or vulnerable. She appreciated the humour, sometimes she says, living in a world that is heavy and dark we need to talk about things that hurt us, but it is also wonderful to talk in a way that combines humour and sadness. The artist never lost the audience for a second, there was a very nice pace, and the ending was incredible. She had been wondering where the piece was going to go and thought it ended in the nicest way, with the commemoration to a dear one.
