Corpores Infames: Disreputable Bodies

A fabric banner with artwork on it hangs from a tree, it features writing that reads "From Bogge We Emerge"

Three people wearing off white cloaks face each other and smile. They pass a stick wrapped in rope to one another.

Three people wearing off white cloaks lead a group of people through a woodland.

Three people wearing off white cloaks stand near, and sit on, a tree. One is holding a wooden rod wrapped in rope.

Three people wearing off white cloaks group together. One person is standing up while two other people kneel in front of them, resting a wooden pole against their cloak.

Three people wearing off white cloaks lead a group of people through a boggy peatland on a wooden walkway.

A photo of a sunny bogland landscape, golden brown in late afternoon sunlight. At the top text reads ‘Corpores Infames’ in a font made from drawings of nude people shaping their bodies into the letters. Shadows of 3 people creep across the grass on the left foreground. In the centre foreground two pools of water sit in the bogland. On the right foreground a photoshopped black ink drawing of a bog butter container on its side appears like it has spilled its contents out into the pool.

A photograph showing a sun-bleached greyish lambs skull against a white wall. On the top of the forehead of the skull, in bright fluorescent pink paint, an egg with its shadow behind it has been painted.

a close up of a person performing in front of a green hill with an old stone building on top. He is covered with a muddy mixture, wearing a pink neckerchief with a bare chest. His head is tilted, his eyes are closed and he looks blissful. There are two people watching him in the background.

An oval ceramic plate on a white wall. The ceramic is a tan brown colour with an inky black drawing of a monk bending over a stone dolman in prayer. In front there are two crutches in the grass, crossed over each other. Above, some clouds and a round moon are visible.

Tickets: Book a free ticket
Dates and Opening times: Thu 20 June, 6pm – 10pm
Venue: Lenzie Moss
Lenzie
East Dunbartonshire
Glasgow
G66 4DB
Participants: Rabindranth X Bhose Belladonna Paloma Oren Shoesmith
Presented by: Rabindranth X Bhose, Belladonna Paloma & Oren Shoesmith
Supported by: Supported by Glasgow International with funds from the Scottish Government’s Festivals EXPO Fund. With special thanks to East Dunbartonshire Council.
Accessiblity: Limited Access: Wheelchair accessible bog with a boardwalk

Corpores Infames: Disreputable Bodies is a performance playing with the connections between trans bodies, boglands and the ancient Celtic rituals honouring them. Emerging from the research of three artists living across Glasgow and the Shetland Islands with a shared devotion to wetlands, this solstice ritual performance explores what boglands can teach us about commitment to deep time and resistance to the tyranny of productivity. Belladonna Paloma, Oren Shoesmith, and Rabindranath X Bhose will lead audience members on a walk through Lenzie Moss, a peatland north of Glasgow. During the walk, visitors will witness a boggy dance inspired by ancient rituals to mark the season’s change.

Tacitus called the preserved bodies found in bogs ‘corpores infames’, or ‘disreputable bodies’, referencing his belief that they were killed and buried by Celtic tribes for their homosexuality. The work reclaims this derogatory moniker and finds its reparative power, considering trans people as the ‘disreputable bodies’ of our current moment. Corpores Infames: Disreputable Bodies expands the idea of disreputable bog bodies to the bog as a whole ecosystem, as well as to trans bodies, proving both are resistant to capitalist frameworks.

Tickets for the free bus which will travel from 5 Florence Street to Lenzie Moss are now sold out. There is also the option to take the train to Lenzie Station and walk to Lenzie Moss from the station. The distance is approximately 100m.

Please note the performance is ticketed, and tickets can be booked in the grey box to the left of this page.