Katrina Daschner
Vagina Dentata
Sister Siren
Sister Siren
Drawing from an intersectional practice that spans film, performance, and sculpture, Katrina Daschner’s bold and inviting image politics cultivate a fluid horizon of multiple identities, presented in unison. Through explorations of bodily fluidity, Daschner both creates and performs her works, often in collaboration with Vienna's LGBTIQ+ community. With her distinctive performances, she blurs the lines between human and non-human, while also deconstructing the socially constructed gender binary of male and female and exposing its fundamental artificiality and the biases it upholds, ultimately freeing the body from restrictive norms.
The untameable and uncontrollable feminine or female*body has been a central element in phallocentric and patriarchal cultures for millennia, taking various forms since the figure of Medusa. One such form, found in folklore across many cultures is the myth of ‘vagina dentata’ (toothed vagina in Latin), a recurring symbol of monstrous female. Sigmund Freud discussed the link between mouth and vagina as a manifestation of survival instinct – devouring versus being devoured.
The artist frequently engages with the symbol of the vagina dentata in her work, reimagining it as both a protective armor for her LGBTIQ+ performers and a powerful ritual of self-empowerment. Vagina dentata is a notorious symbol of the fear of womxn and the terror that they inspire, which is linked to castration anxiety for cis men.
Daschner's sculptures are quiet yet intense, luminous, and ethereal, embodying the atmosphere of their surroundings while grounding the viewer with their presence. For the artist, sculpture is a performative act of self-expression. Daschner’s piece Sister Siren can be interpreted as the empowering abstraction of sisterly figures that have accompanied the artist on her artistic journey to challenge patriarchy and its conventions.
Notably sirens, like the concept of vagina dentata are part of the evolving iconography of the monstrous feminine. As early as the third century BCE, Apollonius of Rhodes described sirens in Argonautica as part-womxn and part fish. Their depiction as mermaids emerged later, during the Middle Ages. From their mythological origins, sirens have been seen as beings that lured men to their doom, drawing sailors toward the darkness.
Katrina Daschner’s presentation at Schleifmühlgasse 17 unfolds like a theatrical scenery in which the two artworks “Sister Siren (Silver Grey)” and “Vagina Dentata” are entangled in a dynamic interplay, with each piece flowing into and reshaping the other in a staged, immediate dialogue of empowerment and transformation.
Biography
Born 1973 in Hamburg, lives and works in Vienna
Selected Solo Exhibitions / Filmfestivals
2025
Vagina Dentata, Lombardi—Kargl, Vienna
2024
The Borrowed Eyes of a Needle, Georg Kargl Fine Arts, Vienna
2023
„Wir wollen kein Theater. Wir wollen ein anderes Theater“ (stage design), WerkX, Vienna
Hiding In The Lights, Museum of Contemporary Art, Zagreb
2022
Burn & Gloom! Glow & Moon! Thousand Years of Troubled Gender, Kunsthalle Wien, Vienna
2021
GLOWING ACTS, Georg Kargl BOX, Vienna
Hiding in the Lights, New Horizons Festival, Wrozlaw
Hiding in the Lights, Stadtkino, Vienna
Hiding in the Lights, Diagonale, Festival des Österreichischen Films, Graz
POMP, Short Waves Festival, Poznan
Plum Circus, XPOSED International Queer Film Festival, Berlin
2020
Schüttblenden, Neuer Kunstverein Wien, Vienna
Hiding in the Lights, Diagonale, Festival des Österreichischen Films, Graz
Hiding in the Lights, New Horizons Festival, Wroclaw
Special Mention/ Queer Art Competition, Queerlisboa Lesbian & Gay Festival, Lisbon
Eine achtteilige „Traumnovelle“ von Katrina Daschner, Kurzfimtage Oberhausen, Oberhausen/Germany
66. Int. Kurzfilmtage Oberhausen (int. competition Oberhausen / Germany with „Pomp“)
Pomp, Antimatter Underground Film Festival, Victoria
Pomp, Viennale - Vienna International Film Festival, Vienna
Pomp, Diagonale, Festival des Österreichischen Films, Graz
2019
Peacock Hole, Transilvania Film Festival, Cluj
2018
Daschner, Studio / Neue Galerie, Graz
Film festival Trailer für die Diagonale 2018 - Festival des Österreichischen Films, Graz
Pferdebusen, BIEFF Int Experimental Film Festival, Bucharest
Pferdebusen, Filmfest, Dresden
Pferdebusen, Ann Arbor Film Festival, Ann Arbor
Pferdebusen, Mix Brasil, Sao Paolo
2017
Filmfestival Trailer für die 63. Int. Kurzfilmtage Oberhausen
63. Int. Kurzfilmtage Oberhausen (int. competition) Oberhausen
2016
Hiding in the Lights – Films by Katrina Daschner, brut Theater, Vienna
62. Int. Kurzfilmtage Oberhausen (int. competition), Oberhausen
2015
DASCHNER, Tiroler Kunstpavillon, Innsbruck
61. Int. Kurzfilmtage Oberhausen (int. competition), Oberhausen
Daschner, Kunst im Schaufenster, Vienna
Frameout Filmfestival, Vienna (Personale)
2014
60. Int. Kurzfilmtage Oberhausen (int. competition), Oberhausen
Nouvelle Burleque Brutal, 7th Beijing Queer Film Festival, Beijing
2013
Katrina Daschner – „Was guckst du, bin ich Kino?“, MUMOK Kino, Vienna
Katrina Daschner - Mixtape, 13. Int. Film Festival, Wroclaw
59. Int. Kurzfilmtage Oberhausen (int. competition), Oberhausen
2012
Portraiture Series #1: Daschner, Blickle Kino 21er Haus-The Museum of Contemporary Art, Vienna
DASCHNER, Krobath Wien │ Berlin, Berlin
2011
Flamingo Massacre, Krobath Wien │ Berlin, Vienna
BERTLMANN / DASCHNER (together with Renate Bertlmann), Kunstbunker, Nuremberg
2010
Daschner – ein Dialog, Jesuitenforum, Vienna
BERTLMANN / DASCHNER (together with Renate Bertlmann), VE.SCH, Vienna
Against the act – 3 essays about violence, Centre d’art passerelle, Brest
2009
ARIA DE MUSTANG, upstream gallery, Amsterdam
2008
HAFENPERLEN, k/haus passage, Vienna
2007
Fear eat soul up, thrust projects, New York City
TäterIn, Fotogalerie Wien, Vienna
2006
Nature, nature I´m your bride; take me as I am, upstream gallery, Amsterdam
Nature, nature I´m your bride; take me as I am, Galerie Kunstbuero, Vienna
1+1+1 presents „Salon Lady Chutney“, Sinaloa 199#12, México D.F.
2005
Dolores, factory Kunsthalle Krems, Krems
2004
Killing the systems softly, video-and book presentation, galerie kunstbuero, Vienna
Katrina Daschner, upstream gallery, Amsterdam
Murderess, Galerie Kunstbuero, Vienna
2003
Carmilla: Sie, Dracula tritt auf, die Prinzessin tritt ab, und der Held weint, Antonio Ferrara, Emilia Reggio
No fear is seen, unless upon the green, buro empty, Amsterdam
2002
>photocopied mrs. d<, Auto, Vienna
Vincent, Galerie Fotohof, Salzburg
2001
Dreaming Still, Salon Lady Cutney, Vienna
Wanting sweet, Antonio Ferrara, Emilia Reggio
1999
Ojos bien cerrados, La Panaderia, México D.F.
1998
Mutter mit Marmelade, Galerie 5020/Studio, Salzburg
Selected Group Exhibitions
2024
You You, curated by Kate Sutton, Lombardi—Kargl, Wien
2023
... and they lived..., Kunsthalle Bratislava, Bratislava
Precious, Georg Kargl Fine Arts, Vienna
2022
Body and Territory, Art and Borders in Today´s Austria, Museum of Contemporary Art Zagreb, Zagreb
Little Precious Things, Georg Kargl BOX, Vienna
2021
Of things baroque (Stretchy-Feely) with POMP, Kunstverein Leipzig, Leipzig
2020
attempt at rapprochement, Georg Kargl Fine Arts, Vienna
The body and the territory: art and borders in today's Austria, Museum of contemporary art, Zagreb
The body and the territory: art and borders in today's Austria, Kunsthaus Graz, Graz
2019
Up and including Limits: Carolee Schneemann, Muzeum Susch, Susch
Zeig mir Deine Wunden, Dom Museum, Vienna
2017
Material Traces, Galerie Charim, Vienna
BONE- Performance Festival, Bern
lightness and matter/matter and lightness, Kunstraum NÖ, Vienna
Bilder der Sprache und Sprache der Bilder, Dom Museum Wien, Vienna
2016
art & function, Kunsthaus Muerz, Mürzzuschlag
femtrails – I gave my cock a woman`s name, The Sorority, Spektakel, Wien
Chapeau!, Wien Museum, Vienna
Gomenes, Athen Biennal 5-6, Athen
Zeta Galery, Tirana, Albania
2015
Travestie für Fortgeschrittene, Galerie für zeitgenössische Kunst, Leipzig
Self-timer Stories, MUSAC, León
In der Kubatur des Kabinetts, Fluc, Vienna
2014
Selbstportraits, Museum der Moderne Salzburg, Salzburg
Self-timer Stories, Austrian Cultural Forum, New York
STAGE SET STAGE, SBC Gallery, Montreal
Call me on sunday, Krinzinger Projekte, Vienna
2013
S/he is the one, Kunstraum NÖ, Vienna
re.act.feminism # 3, Akademie der Künste, Berlin
HEISSE STEINE, NASSE ZONEN, SCHNELLE MELONEN, VBKÖ, Vienna
The Great Stage, Blackbridge Off, Beijing
2012
re.act.feminism # 3, Fundació Antoni Tàpies
, Barcelona
Rosa Arbeit auf goldener Strasse – Queere Abstraktion, Akademie der bildenden Künste, Vienna
Vollmilch – Der Bart als Zeichen, Lentos Kunstmuseum Linz, Linz (catalogue) re.act.feminism # 2, Museet for Samtidskunst, Roskilde
Night, Ostlicht, Vienna (catalogue)
L'éducation de Rosette, Schloss Harmannsdorf, Harmannsdorf (catalogue)
Bleibender Wert? Kooperation >springerin<, Kunsthaus Bregenz, Bregenz
2011
living on the edge of a silver future, Galerie 5020, Salzburg
Wiener Innen Aussen, Wonderloch Kellerland, Berlin
2010
Architektur und Körper, Krobath Wien │ Berlin, Berlin
Crossing Limits. Art in urban transition, (curated by U.M.Probst), ViennaArtWeek, Vienna
raum_körpereinsatz, MUSA, Vienna (catalogue)
2009
A Ladies Almanach, (with Ines Doujak and Dorit Margreiter), tranzitdisplay, Prague
Performance und Gender, Politik und Intercultural Studies, Fotogalerie Wien, Vienna (catalogue)
The Seen and the Hidden, Austrian Cultural Forum, New York City
Smell it!, Kunsthalle Exnergasse, Vienna
Kunstpreis der Böttchergasse, Weserburg - Museum für Moderner Kunst, Bremen
The Porn Identity, Kunsthalle Wien, Vienna (catalogue)
2008
just different, Cobra Museum, Amstelveen (magazine)
MATRIX – geschlechter/Verhältnisse/Revisionen, MUSA, Vienna (catalogue)
Seems to be. Differente identitäten zwischen ich/wir/queer, Kunstpavillion der Künstlerschaft, Innsbruck
I QUEERELANTI, Galleria Neon, Bologna
Dear Anus, Vbkö, Vienna
Diskonta 3 - Fotografie, IG Bildenden Kunst Galerie, Vienna
2007
<auto in riga>, Showroom 6, Riga
Art Rotterdam, (upstream gallery), Rotterdam
2006
Potential Dialogue, RCM The museum of modern art, Nanjing (catalogue)
Queer arts of Vienna, Universität Wien, Vienna
QueerulantInnen, auto, Vienna
Protections, Kunsthaus Graz, Graz (catalogue)
Von Crossdressing zu Dragkinging, Palaver, Graz
arabesque süperiör-Postfeministische Montagen an der Islamrezeption, Lothringer13/Laden, Munich
Missbrauch. Bilder davon, IG Bildende Kunst, Vienna
2005
ongoing. feminism & activism, galerie 5020, Salzburg
Junge Liste Basel, (upstream gallery/Amsterdam, galerie kunstbuero/Vienna), Basel
8th Festival Cultural de Mayo, Ex Convento del Carmen, Guadalajara/México
<Gosh! Where are you? ... now ... >, Auto, Vienna
viennAffair, galerie kunstbuero, Vienna
2004
bukowski-hommage, ex-teresa, México City/México
Lippenstiftbilder, Halle A/14, Berlin
Der doppelte Blick, Künstlerhaus Bregenz (folder)
Junge Liste Basel, (upstream gallery/Amsterdam), Basel
No risk no glory, loop raum, Berlin
2003
mothers of invention, mumok, Vienna (catalogue)
Blurrr, Performance Biennale, Tel Aviv (catalogue/cd)
5th International Performancefestival Navinki 2003, Minsk (catalogue)
In faccia al mondo, Museo d’Arte Contemporanea di Villa Croce, Genova (catalogue)
Artforum Berlin, gallery antonio ferrara, Reggio Emili
Zugluft, Zurich 4th Austrian Triennal on Photography, Graz (catalogue)
2002
Wien umgehen, Tanzquartier Wien Vienna
Let´s twist again, Kunsthalle Exnergasse, Vienna
Autum in Reggio Emilia, Antonio Ferrara
Artforum Berlin, gallery antonio ferrara, Reggio Emilia
2001
Trammelled-Untrammelled, Zacheta, Warsawa (catalogue)
Never stop the action, Steirischer Herbst, rotor, Graz (cd)
Festival Autriche, (Killing the systems softly), Batofar, Paris, (catalogue)
Chutney Mary, Info-screen, museum in progress, Vienna
Artforum Berlin, gallery antonio ferrara, Reggio Emilia
Double life, Generali Foundation, Vienna (catalogue)
Moving out, Museum Moderner Kunst, Vienna (catalogue)
2000
Die neue Künstlergeneration, Kunsthalle Krems, Krems (catalogue)
Kunst im öffentlichen Raum, Etsdorf (book)
Residue, Kunsthalle Exnergasse, Vienna
Never alone again, La Panaderia, México, D.F.
Kunst im öffentlichen Raum, Etsdorf (catalogue)
Saloon Lady Chutney, Universität für angewandte Kunst, Vienna
1999
Video stage 1.0, Candid Arts Trust, London
Kurzfilmfestival, Munich
Modebus, Museumsquartier, Vienna
Gender troubles, Schikanederkino, Vienna
Weiße Spritzer, Museum Karlsruhe, KarlsruheHearing, iftaf, Vienna
1998
Junge Szene 98, Secession, Vienna (catalogue)
2 plateaux II, Ausstellungsraum mezzanin, Vienna
)limit(ed., Hochschule für angewandte Kunst, Vienna (Folder)
Auch Heinz und Susi, Künstlerhaus/Passagegalerie, Vienna (Folder)
Nach 68 VERLANGEN UND BEGEHREN, Salle de Bal, Vienna
1997
Gruppenaufnahme, Messepalast, Vienna
JAM, Semper Depot, Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, Vienna
1996
Das Festival, Künstlerhaus/passage, Vienna
Selected Performances
2017
CLUB GROTESQUE FATAL (Anti Valentines Ball), WUK, Vienna
2015
CLUB GROTESQUE FATAL (Queer Performance Festival Vienna), Kosmos Theater, Vienna
2014
CLUB GROTESQUE FATAL – Sylvester Gala, brut/Künstlerhaus, Vienna
2013
Club Burlesque Brutal – Best of 2013, Host/Performance Katrina Daschner (Frau Professor la Rose), brut/Konzerthaus, Vienna
Club Burlesque Brutal, performance at Bookpresentation of Denice Bourbon, Elysium, Vienna
Club Burlesque Brutal, performance at Gender Crash, brut Vienna, Vienna
2012
Club Burlesque Brutal – Gourmet Brutal, Host/Performance Katrina Daschner (Frau Professor la Rose), brut/Konzerthaus, Vienna
Club Burlesque Brutal – ANIMALÖS MONSTRÖS, Host/Performance Katrina Daschner (Frau Professor la Rose), brut/Konzerthaus, Vienna
2011
Club Burlesque Brutal, Host/Performance Katrina Daschner (Frau Professor la Rose), Staatstheater Dresden, Dresden
Club Burlesque Brutal, Host/Performance Katrina Daschner (Frau Professor la Rose), SO36, Berlin
Club Burlesque Brutal, Host/Performance Katrina Daschner (Frau Professor la Rose), Forum Stadtpark, Graz
Club Burlesque Brutal – ZUM DIKATAT BITTE!, Host/Performance Katrina Daschner (Frau Professor la Rose), brut/Konzerthaus, Vienna
Club Burlesque Brutal – BEST OF, Host/Performance Katrina Daschner (Frau Professor la Rose), brut/Konzerthaus, Vienna
Club Burlesque Brutal – MEDIKAMENTÖS, Host/Performance Katrina Daschner (Frau Professor la Rose), brut/Konzerthaus, Vienna
2010
Club Burlesque Brutal – FAIRY TALES, Host/Performance Katrina Daschner (Frau Professor la Rose), brut/Konzerthaus, Vienna
Club Burlesque Brutal – BOOBS AND BALLS, Host/Performance Katrina Daschner (Frau Professor la Rose), brut/Konzerthaus, Vienna
Club Burlesque Brutal – LA TRISTESSE, Host/Performance Katrina Daschner (Frau Professor la Rose), brut/Konzerthaus, Vienna
2009
Gala Burlesque Brutal – DER GROSSE AUSRITT, Host/Performance Katrina Daschner (Frau Professor la Rose), brut/Konzerthaus, Vienna
The gun is still loaded (as „Frau Professor la Rose“), Kosmos Frauenraum, Vienna
2008
Orlanding the Dominant – Eine queere Burlesque, Performance (with SV DAMENKRAFT,Gustav, Sissy Boyz), brut-konzerthaus, Vienna
Frau Professor la Rose, solo performance im brut/Foyer, Vienna
2005
Der Leichenschleicher, echoraum, Vienna (with Gini Müller)
Der Ohrenzeuge (Elias Canetti Festival), Kleylehof/Burgenland/Austria (with Gini Müller)
2004
No risk no glory, loop raum, Berlin, solo performance
2003
Blurrr, Performance Biennale, Tel Aviv, solo performance (catalogue/cd)
5th International Performancefestival Navinki2003, Minsk, solo performance (catalogue)
2002
>photocopied mrs. d<, Auto, Vienna, Performance with Sabine Marte
Wien umgehen, Tanzquartier Wien Vienna, solo performance
2001
Trammelled-Untrammelled, Zacheta, Warsawa, solo performance (catalogue)
Never stop the action, Steirischer Herbst, rotor, Graz, solo performance (cd)
Dreaming Still,Salon Lady Cutney, Vienna, solo performance
Wanting sweet, Antonio Ferrara, Emilia Reggio, solo performance
Killing the systems softly, Festival Autriche, Batofar, Paris, solo performance (catalogue)
2000
Residue, Kunsthalle Exnergasse, Vienna, solo performance
Kunst im öffentlichen Raum, Etsdorf, solo performance (book)
1999
Ojos bien cerrados, La Panaderia, México D.F., solo performance
Universität für angewandte Kunst, Vienna, solo performance
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