Artist Information

Artist Biography

Lucy Gaydecki is a contemporary performance maker whose work takes the form of performance art and drag. Gaydecki’s work typically explores the themes of gender inequality, the hyper sexualization of women and popular culture.

In 2018 Gaydecki was part of forming an all-female live art collective named Femmetasia. With the company Femmetasia Gaydecki explored working with endurance and duration. The company took live art installation pieces to CLAY (Leeds, 2018) Expression MARTini (London, 2019) and Project Femme (London, 2020). Working with Femmetasia established a collaborative way of working for Gaydecki, meaning collaboration is now integral her practice.

In September 2022 Gaydecki completed an MA in Contemporary Performance at Manchester School of Theatre (MST). During her time at MST Gaydecki developed the drag persona Yummy Mummy. With Yummy Mummy, Gaydecki uses the practice of drag to create work addressing the way mothers are sexualized in society. She uses, grotesque, visceral imagery to make audiences confront biases and address the uncomfortable way society allows these norms to continue.

Since leaving MST Gaydecki is continuing her research around motherhood and popular culture to develop her solo show Lovely Day. In Lovely Day Gaydecki uses her drag and clowning techniques to address the societal pressures put on women to have children and the pressures put on mothers once they have had children.

Current Research Interests

My current research is focused around developing my drag persona Yummy Mummy. With Yummy Mummy I am using drag to explore the hyper-sexualisation of mothers. I am using the form of drag as it allows me to create a grotesque persona – as grotesque as I believe the society that sexualises mothers to be. As a female theatre maker exploring gender and misogyny has always been intrinsic to my practice as my practice has always been partly autobiographical. For me Yummy Mummy is as much a celebration of womanhood as it is an exploration of a patriarchal society.

As well as my solo performance projects I aim to work within communities as a way of expanding my research - as mentioned in my artist statement. My performance work has always been a response to the society I am living in and to further develop this I need to work with the societal groups I am looking into such as mothers.

Skills

- Performing

- Acting: classical and contemporary

- Choreographed movement and dance

- Accents: All regional accents within the UK, American (LA, New York, Texas), French, Spanish, Latin American, Australian

- Writing

- Directing

- Producing

- Costume design

- Clowning

- Drag

- Playing age 14 - 26