Talaya Schmid

In her tufted objects, immersive installations and performances, Talaya Schmid explores relationships and communication as subversive acts. At the centre is the body as a political space, where sensuality, sexuality, and desire are negotiated in order to break social taboos and deconstruct stereotypical notions. A key focus lies on textile art as a feminist strategy. Colourful, humorous, and playful, her works create social spaces for exchange, intimacy and vulnerability, thus fostering a diverse and fluid society.

Educated at Goldsmiths, University of London, Schmid has won numerous awards and scholarships, including the work grant from the Canton of Zurich (2023) and Perform! from Pro Helvetia (2024). Her works have been exhibited multiple times at the Kunsthaus Zurich, as well as at the Museum Haus Konstruktiv, Helmhaus Zurich, the Industrial Art Biennial in Croatia, documenta 14 in Kassel, and the Salon International d’Art Contemporain in Marseille.

About the Performance: Beta Mermaid and Sheela

A cyberfeminist techno-shamanism ritual by Beta Mermaid and Sheela, in which we create a dimension connected through our moans, held by the world-spanning tissue of air and multiplying like Yin and Yang from the I Ching. We create vibrations from our bodies and sounds and — with the technology of time travel — we hit the point and release the water to create ecstasy for this Universe.