The diploma project DRAGlab focuses on ‚Drag, Gender and Persona‘ and was open to the public in the Lichthof of the University of Arts and Design from May 3rd until July 30th, 2017. Drag is an art form, in which gender roles are exaggerated through the use of make-up, costumes, and performance. Drag distinguishes between Drag Queens (men performing the role of women) and Drag Kings (women performing the role of men). Furthermore, the own gender can be extended and exaggerated, or elements of both, the transformation into a different gender, and the extension of one‘s gender can be combined.
The central idea of the DRAGlab was to make Drag approachable to visitors through workshops and talks. During individual appointments, participants could have their appearance transformed into their Drag persona and therefore make a unique experience.
Appointments were made through the official website, which serves as a platform for documentation of all talks, workshops, and experiences.
At the annual exhibition of the HfG Karlsruhe, the diploma exhibition CIAO, and the KAMUNA 2017 the DRAGlab presented itself as an interactive exhibition and served as a space for performance which welcomed participation from its visitors.
The experiences of all visitors and participants were also made tangible in the form of a book project, analyzing and documenting their emotions based on experience reports and symbols, which participants matched to their newly discovered Drag persona, next to graphically abstract make-up remover tissues. These are the remnants of this temporary and volatile transformation.