Jules Petru Fricker

How would you describe the relationship and the limits/differentiation between you as "Jules Petru Fricker" and your alter ego "LEGZ"?

“LEGZ gave me a lot of power and freedom in trying out, sketching, and performing unfinished ideas and concepts without any limitation or fear. LEGZ was a good way for me to find my artistic voice, be in a faster production mode, and get instant feedback. I would come up with a concept and 3 days later would perform it in a drag show. My alter ego will always be a part of me that I can pull from even though I am not performing in club spaces and the queer underground anymore. But it will always be a part of my practice and therefore is part of my name that reveals already the many facets: Jules my nickname since a young age, Petru my father's name and my middle name and Fricker the name of my mum, and last but not least my alter ego LEGZ (formerly Shiaz Legz) that is until today my Insta name.”

You describe your work as political — as a form of resistance to, and critique of, the (hetero)normative society. Moreover, as part of a recent performance you wrote the words "CEASEFIRE NOW" on your body, thus using your body as a canvas for an urgent political demand. How does this demand/cry for justice and peace fit into your wider work? Is this something you have incorporated into your art before?

“I started in the queer underground drag scene and for me, drag is always inherently political, and so am I. The “CEASEFIRE NOW” tattoo was a fast decision after I performed the piece without any writing on my back. In the performance I start with a rebirth, lying on the floor as a knot of an unformed (un)human being, there is a lot of haze, and minimal lights, and together with the sound of my collaborator Grinderteeth we create this dark energy. One could not unsee parallels to the Palestine tragedy that was unfolding before our eyes, so the initial image I created was already tainted by the grievance of the ongoing humanitarian tragedy. Artists have always had political views and engage in issues of the day: Being part of the world that we are living in and bringing that into the workplace is for me the essential part of being an artist. If I don't do that I find myself being rather a puppet than an artist – shallow and meaningless. It is important for us not to look away - if we have a learning to take away for example the Nazi era. Jewish and by the way also queer people were murdered left and right and everyone else was looking away. My stance is that I will not accept any humanitarian violation and use my voice to say: not in my name. It came just naturally to me to include my body as a canvas and a political message - especially because I was performing in the capital of Germany, Berlin. I remember Madonna did something similar for her concerts 10 years ago, back then members of Pussy Riot were incarcerated in Russia and I was inspired by that. I asked around to see if there was a way to get a tattoo in Berlin for the next show without knowing how the ink would behave - but I gave it a chance. During the very physical piece of an hour, one could see how the ink was dripping in this hyperreal way. It left me speechless when I saw a picture of that performance. For me it was a way of making sense of what I was doing on stage: including the duality of art and beauty, but also thinking constantly of the injustice and brutality that the Palestinian people met. It gave me a sense of purpose that I could use my voice and not be silenced under this numbing collective experience of suffering and empathy and solidarity for the Palestinian people. The special context and the fear-mongering climate in Germany and the cancel culture of artists who speak out against a genocide happening in front of our eyes left me quite speechless. And I must say that I am grateful for DOCK11 and the director's backing - I was ready to risk that my last show would be canceled - because that could have easily happened in the current political climate in Germany.”