Today, in an era where the boundaries between private opinion and public discourse are increasingly blurred, societal norms and perceptions are often maintained or reinforced—including views on the role of women. Despite growing acceptance of their rights, women continue to face discrimination in many areas. In her work, artist and filmmaker Sabrina Labis explores how sexism manifests itself in everyday language, stereotypical body images, and societal structures, revealing the underlying mechanisms. Her works address, among other things, how women are disadvantaged within scientific, cultural, and media structures and what impact this has on our perceptions and actions.

The exhibition “Miss Universe” is the internationally active artist’s first solo exhibition in Berlin. The presentation includes two video works, textile elements, and photographs that offer a deeper look at the complex issue of gender stereotypes and entrenched patterns of thought. Labis examines the processes and effects of language models and media images with regard to gender stigmas as well as forms of power and oppression. The exhibition focuses on the presentation and analysis of sexist prejudices, which are expressed differently in science and popular culture.

The video work “O B A F G K M” takes up a well-established mnemonic from astronomy – “Oh Be A Fine Girl! Kiss Me!” – which serves as a memory aid for the spectral classification of stars, while simultaneously placing women in a discriminatory perspective. In the video, Labis has a performer translate the sequence of letters O, B, A, F, G, K, M into gestural movements. In the accompanying soundtrack, alternative mnemonics are developed as new linguistic models that reverse existing power relations and open up new, associative spaces of meaning.

The second video work, “Miss Universe,” analyzes the idealized and male-connoted image of women in the context of the historic Miss Universe beauty pageant from 1964 in Miami, USA. Here, young women are judged and classified solely based on their physical characteristics, body measurements, and height. To this day, a restrictive and stereotypical view dominates the general public perception of women.

In the exhibition’s presentation, textile sashes with embroidered phrases complement the two video works, thus referencing both the public portrayal of women in the media and the alternative mnemonic devices used for the letter sequence of the spectral classification. Furthermore, a photographic view of a starry sky alludes to the universe as a space for thought, a visual system that oscillates between representation and abstraction, between knowledge and imagination.

In “Miss Universe,” Labis analyzes the sexist thought patterns deeply rooted in societal structures that persist into the present day. By critically examining the mechanisms of gender bias in various areas of public life, such as academia and the cultural sector, Labis advocates for a more respectful perception and appreciation of women.

Sabrina Labis (born 1990 in Zurich, Switzerland) studied Fine Arts at the Lucerne School of Art and Design (HSLU). She is a postgraduate student at the Berlin University of the Arts, where she completed the program in Experimental Film and Media Art. She has received numerous awards and grants, including the Lucerne Art Museum Exhibition Prize (2015) and the Elsa Neumann Grant from the State of Berlin (2019). Her work has been shown internationally at festivals and in institutional solo and group exhibitions, most recently at the Academy of Arts, Berlin (2025), the 19th International Human Rights Film Festival, Albania (2024), the Katarzyna Kozyra Foundation, Warsaw (2023), and the Centre Pompidou, Paris (2022).