Slurps Festival, Kotkan Meripäivät 23.7.2026
Punking Diaries, performance by Jérémy Gaudibert, Kaisa Nieminen
Music: Drama Tiikka + soundtrack of maritime songs
Duration app. 40min
photos: Punking Diaries archive (Nadja Leham, Miika Sibelius)

You are invited to join the KSQ – as in Kotka Sea Queen – fleet enrollment ceremony. Straighten your collar and tighten up the ropes, we’re setting sail! Somewhere in the harbor is a bit of the lost gay history, let’s dig it out and bathe in its mysterious flirtyness, its secret codes and dramatic performances. Ahoy captain!

The immersive one-audience at the time performance weaves together the homoerotic motifs of sailor life found in Punking, in french & german avant garde (Querelle book Jean Genet and film by Fassbinder) and Finnish art and life (Kotka maritime history, Tom of Finland artwork…). The KSQ performance is designed for one participant at a time. It is participatory but requires no prior knowledge or special skills from the audience member. The performance takes place on a pier that is not wheelchair accessible. Age limit: 18 years.

The Punking Diaries collective explores creatively the heritage of Punking expression in queer dance culture. Punking is a dance created by a group of gay BIPOC men in Los Angeles US in the 1970’s. The style embodies their lived experiences through technique like posing, whacking arms, expressive behavior, music, outfits and different nuances of performativity.

The K.S.Q saga will continue in Helsinki during autumn 2026 in different format, stay tuned.

Other Punking Diaries projects: https://punkingdiaries.myportfolio.com/08112025