The artistic practice of Caz Egelie (b. The Hague, Netherlands, 1994, lives in Utrecht) is hybrid in every sense of the word. Their performances and installations consist of a combination of painting, graphic and digital elements, objects and costumes. Visual art, popular culture, fashion and theatre are mixed together. There is no hierarchy and there are no boundaries between different media or visual conventions.

Egelie has a background as an art teacher, which explains the many art-historical references in their work. They take inspiration from art-history books and museum visits. The work of other people is freely cited. Egelie asks a question, extremely relevant in the digital age, about what authenticity, originality and the artist’s signature mean, what is real and what is fake, and to what extent appropriation and reproduction are permissible.

Egelie also recreates works of art: in the form of digital scans of antique sculptures, for example. But then adds contemporary elements. Like a Roman statue wearing a party hat. Sometimes the scans are turned into 3D animations, which talk and move. The digital and the physical worlds, as well as the historical and contemporary, come together in a surreal way.

For Brief Encounters '22, Egelie has created a two-part performance with the curious title ‘?? - wait, I thought I was supposed to be a generous cook in a greasy kitchen’ – true stories told by The Prompter. The prompter here is Egelie, who stands on a stage, speaking and singing to the audience from the perspective of sculptures: what do they experience when they are looked at? Visitors are confronted with their own voyeurism. The second part of the performance is done by others, at various locations in the park. They have a picnic, read a book or make out with each other in sets equipped with costumes and props, referring to scenes from paintings from periods including the Rococo and antiquity and also to visual codes from the 1970s gay scene, such as the hanky code.