Print on paper, mounted on Alu-Dibond, diptych, 120 x 80 cm each, Städtische Sammlung Erlangen
Cactus costumes made from bunny wire, paper, wallpaper paste, acrylic paint, toothpicks and hot glue
Photographed at Graem Whyte's Workshop at Popp's Packing, Hamtramck, Michigan
The intermedia artist Claudia Holzinger is the narrator of completely new visual stories. In her works, Holzinger uses her body as a projection surface to deal with themes such as body politics and fan culture and established power structures and stereotypes with a great deal of humor, costume comedy and pathos.
Using detailed costumes made from everyday materials, body painting and make-up, she quotes figures and elements from history and pop culture, from the world of trash and consumerism in her often bizarre portrayals. In earlier series, for example, she staged herself as Garfield, Little Red Riding Hood or the actor Patrick Swayze, as a German high-speed train, Dyson vacuum cleaner, Diddl mouse, King Ludwig of Bavaria or Joan of Arc.
In her new work I want to be a cactus, ok with my natural form, she slips into the skin of a saguaro cactus. This extremely frugal plant, which can grow to be over 200 years old and around 16 meters tall, is also one of the best-known symbols of the American West.
