Artist Biography

Elias Wakeem is a gender queer artist and activist, who mixes languages, changes characters and plays different identities, using grotesque body forms that help him create a scene, which challenges the boundaries existing in his society.

They use in particular, installation and performance art events, that present the mixture of their various characters and personas, while examining the reaction of the audience to their personal story.

Whether in a gallery or outside it, Elias knows the limits and tries to re-arrange them. Either by, expanding them or by tightening them, in order to open up their audience and encourage them to re-act or even act, on their own. With the purpose of learning from the mutual experience each of us have. For Elias, the term "Otherness", expresses enrichment and not alienation. From the other, that is different, we can always learn something new. The other brings a new challenge, at the same time he can actually provide support, resulting in a universal magical energy.

Madam Tayoush is the "Other" major character that Elias plays, and she is one magnificent drag queen performer and entertainer, who is full of glam and life. She's here to bring joy and realness, in front of her audience. She carries a message of empathy and love through self-fulfilment and artivism.