Children of Zeus
2026
Performance

“Mythical whispers of the inner wounded.”

Children of Zeus is a living exhibition and an intuitive journey. This living exhibition questions our relationship with nature, the body, and spirituality within today's technological lifestyle.

Two queer Children are discovering the healing power of water within a mythical swamp. Here, they manifest their freedom, free from the oppressive patriarchal powers of Zeus. Old paradigms fade, but not without obstacles. Through their transformative powers, the children will create a fluid world in which they attempt to restore the balance between humanity and nature. The knowledge of their ancestors is found here in breath and rhythm, and is discovered through the body, water, and installation. The friction between forgotten histories and the rise of technological humanity forms a key starting point of their journey into this mythical swamp.

Dancemaker Robbeduz (Robin Nimanong, them/their) and visual artist Valentina Gal (she/her) jointly create an installation consisting of water and sculptures. The collaboration arose from a shared fascination with water, which serves as a metaphor for fluidity and healing powers. Based on this installation, they explore how a sustainable relationship with nature can be created, which includes using natural materials and recycling. Children of Zeus builds on the makers' previous works, Cyborg DNA (Robbeduz & Lux Nautilus, 2023) and Troubled Waters (Gal, 2024). Objects from these earlier works are sustainably rediscovered within this research, aiming for a tangible transmission and contemporary translation of queer ecology.

Queer ecology offers an alternative framework centered on non-binary fluidity. The lived embodiment of queer ecology provides a lens through which this artistic team shares liberation movements in various ways. Seeking liberation from Western patterns and oppression, maker and performer Robbeduz explores their Thai heritage more deeply and connects this to the creative process for both installation and performance. In Thailand and Buddhism, the lotus symbolizes purity and spiritual awakening. This journey embodies all the emotional aspects encountered during such a profound transformation: from mud to the beauty of the lotus.

Visual artist and scenographer Valentina Gal brings a posthumanist perspective to the work, rooted in her ongoing research into human-animal relationships, media-constructed hyperreality, and the boundaries between the natural and the technological. Her practice centers on immersive installation and the use of materials that carry memory and transformation. For Children of Zeus, Valentina works with sculptural forms and natural materials, including lava stone, to create a landscape that is both ancient and alive. Her visual world draws on the tension between ecological fragility and technological acceleration, a friction that runs through the entire work as both aesthetic and inquiry.

“Listen to the forgotten melodies,
wounded children follow the wind
trusting the rhythm of nature to find healing and transformation.”
-Children of Zeus ↓ Credits below the photo documentation