An Artist at the Intersection of Image, Body, and Night

Under the alias Tinkerbelle, Angélique Stehli investigates the delicate boundaries that link photography, the human body, and nocturnal experiences. With her project Honeybush, she creates immersive spaces where sensuality is not commodified but instead nurtures connection, care, and intimacy. This vision will fully materialize during the Honeybush New Year’s Eve 2025 celebration—an embodied, intentional, and vibrant night that redefines festivity.

Capturing Intensity Through the Lens

From a young age, Angélique felt an overwhelming intensity. “Always too much,” she recalls—too tall, too emotional, too sensitive. Confronted with this inner overflow, she turned to imagery for solace. At the age of eleven, her father gave her a camera—an object that soon became both a lifeline and a language, a means of expressing what words had yet to capture.

Photography as Anchor in Times of Loss

After relocating to Europe in the early 2000s, the young artist faced a succession of losses, often without traditional grief rituals. Photography became a way to hold on to what was slipping away. “I was afraid life would escape me again, so I captured it,” she explains. Her images served as memory-markers when personal remembrance faltered. “I was the pen, they were the visual,” she often repeats—words that became her artistic mantra.

Intimate Portraiture of Feminine Strength

The portrait soon took a central role in her work. Through collaborative shoots with loved ones—especially women she admires—Stehli creates intimate, sensual moments that sidestep societal expectations of femininity. Her camera is both witness and participant in these shared rituals, crafting safe, liberating spaces while asserting her role as author of the image.

A Childhood Rooted in San Francisco’s Vibrancy

Vivid memories of her American roots, especially the kaleidoscope that is San Francisco, continue to influence her creative world. Punks, murals, queer parades, and the Latinx community shaped her vision of multiplicity and freedom. “Everything had flavor,” she recalls, sharply contrasting with the rigidity of her Catholic school experience. These memories now serve as an inner refuge—a reminder that other realities are possible.

Art as a Path of Transformation

Over time, Stehli shifted beyond aesthetics toward lived experiences. What matters now is not the artistic medium itself, but the transformation it enables. “How do we use sadness? What remains?” she asks. Movement, shared time, and authentic presence have overtaken the static image. This shift led her to immersive and performative practices that focus on presence rather than representation.

The Body in Action, Not Just Representation

This evolution in her work required giving space to the living body—not as a fixed subject of representation, but as an active participant. “I needed the body to breathe, sweat, tremble,” she says. Through engaging real, diverse bodies in her work, she began healing her own relationship with bodily expression. The physical became a tool for reconnection and collective restoration.

Spaces for Bodies in Search of Rest

Following this focus on the body, space itself took on new significance. Angélique realized that care cannot be offered without a dedicated environment. She now designs environments that center queer, marginalized, and exhausted bodies—those too often left out. “Lack is systemic,” she asserts. Providing a space extends care from the individual to the collective, transforming personal narratives into communal healing.

Honeybush: A Response to Norms and Exhaustion

Honeybush was born out of a desire to break free from mainstream nightlife and post-pandemic fatigue. After years within the culture of nightlife and hospitality, Stehli turned away from male-dominated dynamics. “I can’t watch everything be structured by and for men anymore,” she says. The project emerged with new clarity—pursuing pleasure that is ethical and structured, without sacrificing joy.

Pleasure Within Boundaries, Consent as Core

For Stehli, true pleasure can only flourish within respectful frameworks. “Pleasure only exists where there is respect, clear rules, consent, and fair working conditions.” Honeybush becomes a powerful alternative to the traditional nightlife model—a space where bodies are invited, not exploited. “The body isn’t there to be taken, but to be encountered.”

A Woman Who Chooses Herself

At the heart of Honeybush lies a personal commitment. “I became a woman who chooses herself.” The space she’s creating goes beyond artistic intent—it’s about embodying her values in tangible form. She’s not seeking perfection, but coherence. “I try to turn my values into infrastructure,” she adds, grounding ideals in lived reality.

A Living, Collective, and Evolving Work

Honeybush is not a utopia nor a rigid structure. It’s a living, breathing creation—collective, flawed, but deeply intentional. It invites people to exist together, to be fully present in the moment, and to treat space as an act of care. Above all, it offers fresh ways of being with each other—attuned to the body, and to one another.

Honeybush New Year’s Eve: A Night of Embodied Celebration

Envisioned as a curated space for desire, healing, and shared joy, the inaugural Honeybush event will take place on Wednesday, December 31 in Lausanne—welcoming 2026 with boldness and sensual grace.

📍 Venue

Espace Amaretto
Rue de Genève 97B, 1004 Lausanne

🕘 Schedule

Doors open: 8:45 PM
Performances begin: 10:00 PM

💃 Performances & Music

A diverse lineup of artists from international queer and performance scenes will celebrate the multiplicity of bodies and desires. The stage will welcome: Izzie Pop (Los Angeles), Lalla Morte (Paris), Aurélie Martinez (Pole Flow Bienne), Jay Moves (Paris), Miss Activ (Zurich), 24am, Spaece Moon, Kimya, and Mira (Lausanne), Vond Katrina (Zurich), and Fenixxx (Geneva). Expect a mix of pole dance, burlesque, striptease, and other sensual expressions.

The celebration will flow into the early hours with electrifying DJ sets from Britney C’est Moi, Glitter B!tch, and Road Rage.

🎟️ Tickets available online here.

Latest LGBTQIA+ News

Stay connected and informed with the most recent LGBTQIA+ updates from around the globe through our curated news platform. Featuring embodied reporting, diverse voices, and inclusive narratives, our LGBTQIA+ News page is your gateway to discovering what matters most in our communities—both locally and internationally. Check out coverage of LGBTQIA+ stories in the USA, worldwide developments, and community highlights on our official news network.