"50 cakes of gay" by Kashink
However, 50 Cakes of Gay is not Kashink’s only activist project. The artist grew up in the notorious suburbs of Paris and got to know graffiti early in her life. She began painting on big walls as early as 2006. In the beginning, it was all about the aesthetics of street art, but after some time, she began to use her murals for political statements. She says her activism aims at celebrating human diversity. In the course of the campaign My Body My Rights, she worked with Amnesty International and questioned the gender normative representation of women and their bodies. She also does this with her signature look: She has been wearing two lines above her lip as a mustache for several years now. Thus, she criticizes female beauty standards, especially female make-up traditions.
I wanted to take this strong symbol – the wedding cake – to share my opinion on equal rights and gay marriage. (…) It is legal in France now, after all these protests, but it is still an issue in many countries.
Kashink