The Sexpol Trials

Katerina Sidorova received a grant for the development of new work. The Sexpol Trials is a theoretical and visual investigation of the state control over desire and sexuality. Authoritarian and right-wing regimes rarely begin with overt violence; they begin by regulating bodies. Across contemporary societies of surveillance, political control is first exercised through the policing of gender variance, the restriction of reproductive autonomy, and the tightening of borders that define who may move, reproduce, or appear in public space. Trans and queer bodies, women’s bodies, and migrant bodies become early testing grounds for repression, framed as “uncivil,” excessive, or threatening to social order. Through installation, performed space, and text this research project explores how control, obedience, and exclusion are produced at the level of the body before political violence becomes overt.

Katerina’s work is characterised by a focus on minimalistic spatial form, material tension, and the transformation of architectural and landscape elements into sculptural compositions. Working across installation, performance and text, she investigates the intersections of power, space, and memory, tracing how human actions — whether through policing, extraction or violence — leave lasting imprints on landscapes and bodies. Through immersive installations and artist publicarions she examines how environments, from battlefields public squares to closed off interiors, become repositories of trauma, resistance, and control, revealing the invisible forces that shape collective and individual experience.