10/08/2026
Transitionalism is an original concept and artistic movement developed by Yael
"Papi" Vélez. Yael began formally developing Transitionalism in 2024 through countless hours of research, experimentation, community engagement, and informal workshops. The concept was publicly launched in late 2024, culminating in a four-part workshop series held in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
Rooted in the spirit of Fluxus, Dada, Conceptual Art, and Performance Art, Transitionalism celebrates the raw, unpolished, and fleeting moments that ignite, nurture, and shape the ideas behind what we have come to know as art. Drawing on frameworks including Performance Studies, Gender Theory, and Process Philosophy, Transitionalism invites us to see art as more than a finished object: it is an evolving conversation, a living process, and an exploration of the in-between.
Central to Yael's visual language is the recurring motif of the Genie, which he has explored and developed for more than a decade. These strange, expressive figures emerge repeatedly across his work as shifting presences rather than fixed characters. Existing somewhere between the human, the imaginary, and the spiritual, the Genies embody transformation, possibility, and the many selves we carry within us. Their repeated appearance reflects the ideas at the heart of Transitionalism: identity is never completely fixed, creation is never truly finished, and meaning continually changes through time, context, and encounter.
