the middle of nowhere — imagining how a collective might begin to live Otherwise

Through a methodology of collaboration, the middle of nowhere actively de-centres the author and strives for multiplicity over a single queer narrative. Through this methodology, time and space become shared communal resources between an array of individuals as the parameters of ‘nowhere’ are resisted through a process of imagining how a collective might begin to live Otherwise. At its essence, the middle of nowhere is a transdisciplinary project, with a quest for building relations through which more equitable worlds can not only be imagined but sustained.

Léann Herlihy

Léann Herlihy is an artist and researcher based in Dublin. The methodological fulcrum of their practice pivots around academic studies in queer theory and feminist epistemologies which they utilise in tandem with live action, performance, video, sculpture and text. Pairing gestural action with in-depth research, their practice employs an emancipatory paradigm that actively destabilises gendered and sexualised dichotomies in an overtly heteronormative society.

Originally from Waterford, Léann Herlihy holds a MA in Gender Studies from University College Dublin and a BA in Sculpture, Performance and Spatial Awareness from the University of Arts Poznań, Poland. They were the artist-in-residence for Steak House Live Residency Programme, London [2020] and Assembly #2, Simiane-La-Rotonde, France [2019]. Solo exhibitions include the middle of nowhere, Project Arts Centre, Dublin [2022]; STUNTMAN, ]performance s p a c e[, London [2020]; Trojan Horse, STROBOSKOP Art Space, Warsaw [2019]. Select group exhibitions and festivals include Slow Sunday, Artsadmin, Toynbee Studios, London [2020]; Foreign Bodies, Zachęta National Gallery of Art, Warsaw [2019]; Biennale Warszawa, Mokotowska, Warsaw [2019]; ZABIH Performance Festival, Lviv, Ukraine [2019].

Léann Herlihy is currently supported by the Arts Council [Visual Arts Bursary 2021; Agility Award 2021] and Temple Bar Gallery + Studios [Project Studio 2021-2022].

Gabriele Longega

Gabriele Longega’s interests lie in the intersection of ecology and desire. The focus of their research has been the primitive, esoteric, and precarious aspects of the parks repurposed as cruising areas for homosexual encounters. Through action-based performances, site-specific installations, and mixed media artworks, Longega explores the unintelligible relationships between bodies, vegetation, and utopia. Influenced by science-fiction, the mystery surrounding ancient and prehistoric civilisation, and radical thinkers, their work fits into a contemporary discourse on wilderness, otherness, and queer ecologies.

Currently based in Venice [IT], Longega graduated from NABA, Milan [IT] in Visual Arts and Curatorial Studies. After this, they moved to Glasgow [UK] where they lived for nearly two years. Longega’s work has been presented at Venice International Performance Art Week [IT], Performa Festival [CH], Moving Bodies Festival [IT], Viafarini [IT], CREATurE Live Art [LT], Stereoskop [UK], Celine Gallery [UK], Embassy Gallery [UK], and at the Centre for Contemporary Arts in Glasgow [UK]. In 2019 they were invited as an artist-in-residence at ]performance s p a c e[ [UK] and Dfbrl8r [US]. In 2020 they were a member of the School of the Damned [UK].

Matt Kennedy

Matt Kennedy [he/him] is an Irish Research Council Scholar, a doctoral candidate in the area of trans studies, a poet and a boxer. He is currently employed in BeLonG To, Ireland’s National LGBTI+ youth service as the organisation's policy and research officer. His doctoral research is a collaborative community-based project which aims to explore the ideology of transnormativity through the experiences of young trans men in Ireland via qualitative research. His research areas and interests include trans studies, queer studies, autoethnography, youth studies, pedagogy, education, gender studies, archival studies, sport, and masculinities. His writing can be found in the Irish University Review, Fruit Journal and forthcoming in Sexualities.

Website Credits:
Website design: Léann Herlihy
Website illustrations: Léann Herlihy
Website homescreen images: Léann Herlihy, Beyond Survival Expert (2022)
Photographer: Niamh Barry
Photographic Assistant: Aoife McGrath