We must confess, we've messed about with passing ourselves off in the online world as another gender. Whether on a forum behind a name and an avatar or cross dressing and stumbling into things in Second Life, the internet is a virtual stage as well as a minefield for gender performance. Intriguing then, that the RCA Students Union has organised a week long exhibition of contemporary artists exploring gender and performance as part of their DiverseRCA programme.
We're particularly looking forward to Beautiful Freaks which looks at the "elaborate creatures that frequent the nocturnal London club scene" through a series of photographs by Ralf Obergfell. Alongside this, Tony Hornecker's installation of peep booths constructed out of old doors and found materials, will be occupied by performers on Wednesday 24 February from 3pm and you, the viewer, can turn voyeur, peeping through cracks, small openings and keyholes to see what's going on.
To immerse yourself in the artistic issues, the afternoon of Wednesday 24th Feb is programmed with a curator's tour, artist presentations, a panel discussion and an installation of naked people on a swing. We'll do our level best to be grown up about this.
DiverseRCA's Gender and Performance exhibition runs 22-25 February with a symposium on 24 February 2-8.30pm. Free admission, Royal College of Art, Kensington Gore, London SW7 2EU.
