Sophie creates digital art, mainly traditional illustrations, but also animations with reference to current political issues. Since last year Sophie has been part of the feminist action group Slutwalk Munich which advocates against sexualized violence and for sexual self-determination. “We act mainly through the big demo we organize once a year. It's a mixture of a protest march and a dance party, which is meant to draw attention to the issue, but also to offer participants a safe space to dress the way they want for a change without having to experience assaults.” In addition, the group organizes various events, they go to numerous demonstrations like Fridays for Future and provide information about queer feminist issues locally but also on their podcast and on their social media sites. In addition to administrative tasks, Sophie is also responsible for posting on Instagram, among other things, and often uses their illustrations.
Sophie was born in Munich. “Munich is my one true love and the closest thing to what I’d call home, even though I don't really like the term. But it’s my city. I identify very strongly with Munich and I have this typically Bavarian arrogance about it.” Sophie is deeply rooted in Munich and loves to spend their time at the river Isar. Sophie feels like she is part of the LGBTQIA+ community, mainly because of their involvement in Slutwalk Munich and because of their queer friends, but they do miss some spaces where they can also feel comfortable as a non-binary person. “I’m a very empathetic person and I create a lot of art from my emotions. I always want to translate my feelings into art and put it out there. The community is an important source of inspiration for me.”
For Sophie, being queer means anything that rejects heteronormativity and steps out of the binary gender system, both in terms of sexual orientation and gender identity. “For me, a lot of it is about a feeling. I don't feel I belong to the traditional society and I reject a lot of things. That’s why for me, it’s clear that I’m queer.” In their work, Sophie often deals with representation and inclusion. “I think quite a lot about how I represent and portray people and what they do. I always ask myself, how is someone portrayed and how do I reproduce stereotypes or clichés that I don't really want to?” Sophie cites instructions for anatomy as an example, which are mostly binary and where everything in between does not have a place. “That's something I can break down easily and beautifully with my art. You just have to be aware of it.” For the Slutwalk stickers, Sophie draws different people who are trans, PoC or have disabilities.
Sophie would like to see feminism become more intersectional because it includes everybody. “A lot of the rights that we have as queer people today go back to intersectional feminism. Without Black trans women, we wouldn’t have Christopher Street Days today.” Within the Slutwalk group, they want to be an ally and use their privilege to make a difference. Sophie is currently in the process of becoming more professional in their business as a freelance illustrator. Despite their initial lack of motivation, the pandemic has given them a push and allowed them to spend a lot of time working on their art. “The pandemic definitely showed me that I can't live without art. And I think that's a good thing.”
© Francesco Giordano, 2022
Sophie creates digital art, mainly traditional illustrations, but also animations with reference to current political issues. Since last year Sophie has been part of the feminist action group Slutwalk Munich which advocates against sexualized violence and for sexual self-determination. “We act mainly through the big demo we organize once a year. It's a mixture of a protest march and a dance party, which is meant to draw attention to the issue, but also to offer participants a safe space to dress the way they want for a change without having to experience assaults.” In addition, the group organizes various events, they go to numerous demonstrations like Fridays for Future and provide information about queer feminist issues locally but also on their podcast and on their social media sites. In addition to administrative tasks, Sophie is also responsible for posting on Instagram, among other things, and often uses their illustrations.
Sophie was born in Munich. “Munich is my one true love and the closest thing to what I’d call home, even though I don't really like the term. But it’s my city. I identify very strongly with Munich and I have this typically Bavarian arrogance about it.” Sophie is deeply rooted in Munich and loves to spend their time at the river Isar. Sophie feels like she is part of the LGBTQIA+ community, mainly because of their involvement in Slutwalk Munich and because of their queer friends, but they do miss some spaces where they can also feel comfortable as a non-binary person. “I’m a very empathetic person and I create a lot of art from my emotions. I always want to translate my feelings into art and put it out there. The community is an important source of inspiration for me.”
For Sophie, being queer means anything that rejects heteronormativity and steps out of the binary gender system, both in terms of sexual orientation and gender identity. “For me, a lot of it is about a feeling. I don't feel I belong to the traditional society and I reject a lot of things. That’s why for me, it’s clear that I’m queer.” In their work, Sophie often deals with representation and inclusion. “I think quite a lot about how I represent and portray people and what they do. I always ask myself, how is someone portrayed and how do I reproduce stereotypes or clichés that I don't really want to?” Sophie cites instructions for anatomy as an example, which are mostly binary and where everything in between does not have a place. “That's something I can break down easily and beautifully with my art. You just have to be aware of it.” For the Slutwalk stickers, Sophie draws different people who are trans, PoC or have disabilities.
Sophie would like to see feminism become more intersectional because it includes everybody. “A lot of the rights that we have as queer people today go back to intersectional feminism. Without Black trans women, we wouldn’t have Christopher Street Days today.” Within the Slutwalk group, they want to be an ally and use their privilege to make a difference. Sophie is currently in the process of becoming more professional in their business as a freelance illustrator. Despite their initial lack of motivation, the pandemic has given them a push and allowed them to spend a lot of time working on their art. “The pandemic definitely showed me that I can't live without art. And I think that's a good thing.”