In the Steam, Something Forms is a  work-in-progress that delves into terrain of queer gathering spaces—particularly bathhouses—as sites of intimacy, resistance, and creation. In collaboration with mime artist and performer Luuk Weers, we explore how such spaces have historically allowed for fluid expressions of identity, community, and artistic experimentation.

Drawing inspiration from archival projects like The Fairoaks Project by Frank Melleno, which documented queer life in a San Francisco commune-bathhouse in the late 1970s, our work steps into the residue and potential of these architectures. We’re not attempting to reconstruct a past, but rather to listen to it—through fragments, gestures, and re-enactment iva photography. The bathhouse becomes not only a space of physical encounter but also a methodology: a place where performance, photography, and presence merge in new forms of making.

Through interviews, hacked-camera recordings in complete darkness, and performative exercises derived from found footage, we build a shared vocabulary across disciplines. Our aim is to create a space where queer embodiment is not only documented but activated—where something intimate, political, and transformative can emerge through artistic practice.

The outcome will take shape as a research publication, a film, and a performative installation. Together, these elements reflect the ongoing nature of the work: a constellation of moments, voices, and encounters that refuse to be fixed.

Tools used: Polaroid 600-camera, Infrared-camerasystem enhancse with technology. 

Copyright Joery Erna 2025