Bones of Graphene, Skin of Kevlar
The ongoing project Bones of Graphene, Skin of Kevlar studies the historical resilience of the transgender community – a community threatened further by the contemporary rise of fascism and extreme right-wing politics. Bones of Graphene, Skin of Kevlar is the second chapter in Thissen’s extensive Watch it Collapse project – an exploration of the stagnation in the safety and emancipation of transgender individuals. This four-year research focuses on transgender and queer visibility, with a particular emphasis on the dystopian political climate of our time. “With this work, my goal is to create strong contemporary transgender figures and symbolic still lifes that channel the ancestral power of our queer elders, pushing back against the dangers of our time. I want to capture and translate the tensions and threats we are facing. In a time marked by fear-mongering, violence, media manipulation, bans on gender-affirming healthcare and an increasing detachment from fact, it is vital to develop strategies for staying safe and resilient – without losing the ability to remain soft and true to who we are.”
The title is a poetic tribute to the (historical) strength of trans individuals and the trans body, symbolized by graphene bones and Kevlar skin—two of the strongest materials in the world. Graphene, an organic material, represents the inherent and natural existence of trans life, persisting against all odds. The kevlar skin refers to the autonomous, synthetic and medical possibilities that trans individuals can employ—possibilities often vilified in transphobic rhetoric.
This work was created in collaboration with Esmay Wagemans, Joris Suk and Cain Wittenhaus.
The first results of Bones of Graphene, Skin of Kevlar were shown during Art Rotterdam 2025, presented by FOTODOK. The final results are currently on show at MU Hybrid Art House in the shape of a solo exhibition. (April 10 – June 28 2026)
For this project Thissen conducted archival research in New York in 2024. In 2025 they will took part in the FUTURES Residency program at ISSP in Riga, Latvia to further deepen their research.
Exhibition overview pictures by Hanneke Wetzer.