Video, Color, Stop Motion animation, 5 min

The starting point of this new work is a collection of envelopes over 5 years. Briefangst – the phenomenon of fear of opening letters in regard to German’s oldschool bureaucracy is a common anxiety trigger. The hundreds of envelopes gathered by the artist is not only a reminder of the state’s presence but also a reminder of the gender binary the state and its different institutions relentlessly confront gender non conforming individuals with. The envelopes look very similar on the outside, but the interior is diverse. The diverse patterns in the interiors of the envelopes are for discretion. The information in the envelopes are private. The privacy of information is one of the main reasons for Germany’s anti-digitalization persistence. The only information that should not be private is the gender of the recipient. The gender mark: “Frau”, “Herr” or lately “Diverse” is assigned by the state authorities and is harder than concrete. 
In a stop motion video the gender specific titles and pronouns are printed on the inner side of the envelopes modifying the patterns. An euphonic classical singing accompanies the overlaying of the layers and colors until glitches start to distort the musical flow. The gender specific titles and pronouns are stuck in the throats and suffocate the singers. As the overlapping of prints cover almost all the surfaces of the envelopes in a word and color mass a cacophony of screams, growls and laughters rise to high pitches. 
Inspired by Luciano Berio’s Sinfonia For 8 Voices And Orchestra and every day realities of living while trans Dear State reflects on one question: 
Are trans people the glitches disturbing the monotone flow of states gendered business as usual or the state is a distortion in nature’s diversity?