Mailo Mēness is a performance artist who combines art and activism to talk about issues important to them, such as queer rights and queer visibility, the vulnerability of the artist and the precarious worker, animal welfare, etc. The artist draws on their own experiences in their work, using events from their own life and adding some shades of humour. The artist has participated in several group exhibitions in Latvia and Europe, and is an annual participant in the Riga performance festival "Starptelpa".
Another direction in which Mailo Mēness works is the development of the drag character Emmanuele Lampa, which they have been doing since 2019. With the drag character, the artist amplifies queer voices and tries to break the usual gender stereotypes. They have performed in drag shows at events in Latvia (Praids, Lampa festival, self-organised events), as a guest artist in Tartu (Estonia), Sapfo festival in Lithuania and Stockwig festival in Stockholm.
EDUCATION
2020 – 2023 Art Academy of Latvia, Faculty of Audio-Visual Media Art, department “Motion. Image. Sound” (MA)
2020 Laboratory of Stage Arts “Butoh art”, Riga (theory + practice) (60 hours)
2018 – 2019 Latvian Performance Art Centre “Transformation of personal experience in body, voice and object”, Riga (theory + practice) (150 hours)
WORKS
2024
Upcoming performances: "How to be" Starptelpa 2024; drag show during festival LAMPA, drag show in Tallinn, Estonia
2023
(recovering from burnout and mild depression after performances and studies)
Participation in group show "Drag Yourself Here" in Kogo gallery, Tartu (August - October)
Assisting Gundega Evelone in performance: "Destruction of Unpleasant Things in 7 Acts" (August)
Performance "Vistu manifests" at Riga Performance Festival Starptelpa, LMA, Riga (June)
Performance "Katram savu mākslinieku" in the location of planned Contemporary Art Museum of Latvia
2022
(recovering from burnout after exhibition)
Group exhibition "+/- Children" in gallery DOM, together with Laura Feldberga and Ilze Vēze-Balode (10.11. - 2.12.)
Project "Latvian Drag Kings" – drag shows
Participation in the creative summer camp for essay group (tutor Santa Remere) organised by the online magazine "Satori" (August), and participation in the readings of the camp texts "Readings of pleasure" within the theatre festival Homo Novus (September)
Participation in the butoh performance "Dzīslot" within the White Night, premiere at the opening of the procedural exhibition "The warmth of your hands does not hurt me" on 27 July
Performance "Genderbender II" at Riga Performance Festival Starptelpa, LMA, Riga (June)
Participation in the project "Baltic Drag King Festival 2022” (June)
Project "Latvian Drag Kings" – drag shows
Participation in the creative summer camp for essay group (tutor Santa Remere) organised by the online magazine "Satori" (August), and participation in the readings of the camp texts "Readings of pleasure" within the theatre festival Homo Novus (September)
Participation in the butoh performance "Dzīslot" within the White Night, premiere at the opening of the procedural exhibition "The warmth of your hands does not hurt me" on 27 July
Performance "Genderbender II" at Riga Performance Festival Starptelpa, LMA, Riga (June)
Participation in the project "Baltic Drag King Festival 2022” (June)
2021
Participation with prose work "On My Side of the Bed" in the reading evening organised by Latvian PEN “Aizliekts" within the festival "Prose Readings" (10.12.2021.)
Participation in the group exhibition "Public Encounters" at Art Station Dubulti: "Public Encounters: Engagement" with the work "Homosexual Sculpture" (tutors Kristaps Ancāns, Marc Hulson, curator Inga Šteimane) (10.09. - 31.10.) and creation of a performative work in London, Grenery Square, tutors Kristaps Ancāns, Marc Hulson and Alex Shady (01.10.-11.10.)
Participation in the performance "Universe" as part of the film "Homo Ludens" (LPMC film about the sculptor Ojārs Arvīds Feldbergs), as a member of the performance group "Animist"
Participation in the project "Art and Activism for a Fairer World", organised by ISSP (July-October 2021)
Participation in the project "Public Encounters" lecture series (LMA in collaboration with Central St. Martins College of Art, London) (February - March)
Video performance "It" , Riga Performance Festival "Starptelpa", Riga
Participation in the group exhibition "Public Encounters" at Art Station Dubulti: "Public Encounters: Engagement" with the work "Homosexual Sculpture" (tutors Kristaps Ancāns, Marc Hulson, curator Inga Šteimane) (10.09. - 31.10.) and creation of a performative work in London, Grenery Square, tutors Kristaps Ancāns, Marc Hulson and Alex Shady (01.10.-11.10.)
Participation in the performance "Universe" as part of the film "Homo Ludens" (LPMC film about the sculptor Ojārs Arvīds Feldbergs), as a member of the performance group "Animist"
Participation in the project "Art and Activism for a Fairer World", organised by ISSP (July-October 2021)
Participation in the project "Public Encounters" lecture series (LMA in collaboration with Central St. Martins College of Art, London) (February - March)
Video performance "It" , Riga Performance Festival "Starptelpa", Riga
2020
LMA student group exhibition “Hard drive of lost expressions” at PILOT gallery, Rīga (12.11.-31.12.)
Project “Baltic Drag King Online Festival 2020”
Butō performance “Kukaiņi” Pedvāles brīvdabas muzejā, Sabilē
Butō performance “Plaukums" Tu jau zini kur zālē, Rīga
Project “Dragking history 101” (5 video episodes)
Performance “An Intimate Moment”, Rīga
Project “Baltic Drag King Online Festival 2020”
Butō performance “Kukaiņi” Pedvāles brīvdabas muzejā, Sabilē
Butō performance “Plaukums" Tu jau zini kur zālē, Rīga
Project “Dragking history 101” (5 video episodes)
Performance “An Intimate Moment”, Rīga
2019
"Latvian Drakging Festival 2019" - project organisation and participation in the festival, Riga
Participation in NORDIC PERFORMANCE ART seminar NEXT LEVEL, Odense, Denmark
Performance "Connection" Academia. Latvian Academy of Art, Arsenāls, together with Anna Vilāne
Street performance "Baltic/Nordic Community", Gothenburg, Sweden
Performance "Genderbender" during Riga Performance festival "Starptelpa", Riga
Performance "Binding, Scattering, Gathering" with Polish artist Agnieszka Karasch
Performance "When was the last time you hurt someone?" As part of the performance evening "Springarisation", Riga
Participation in the performative walk "The Tree Walk" within the festival "No New Idols" (together with Linda Boļšakova, Anastasia Shnepps-Shneppe, Sarmīte Kalniņa, Mingaile Kola, Ilva Minajeva and Sandra Betkere)
Participation in NORDIC PERFORMANCE ART seminar NEXT LEVEL, Odense, Denmark
Performance "Connection" Academia. Latvian Academy of Art, Arsenāls, together with Anna Vilāne
Street performance "Baltic/Nordic Community", Gothenburg, Sweden
Performance "Genderbender" during Riga Performance festival "Starptelpa", Riga
Performance "Binding, Scattering, Gathering" with Polish artist Agnieszka Karasch
Performance "When was the last time you hurt someone?" As part of the performance evening "Springarisation", Riga
Participation in the performative walk "The Tree Walk" within the festival "No New Idols" (together with Linda Boļšakova, Anastasia Shnepps-Shneppe, Sarmīte Kalniņa, Mingaile Kola, Ilva Minajeva and Sandra Betkere)