Queer Punk - Blog Posts

ALTAR BOYS ALTERED BOYS WE'RE THE THINGS THAT LOVE DESTROYS

apathy’s a tragedy and boredom’s a crime !

another older project, i’m actually proud of those mockups but never posted them anywhere until now 😭

also here’s the individual illustrations: goat head / knife lady

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Spring 2020, SOSA Art & Entrepreneurship Product Design: Teeth

discordant noises

valentine’s day 🖤💚

Men be like, "oh, you like grunge? Name three Nirvana songs!" without considering the fact that grunge was not a single popular band at one moment in time, but the roots of a movement that resonates so strongly with us because the aesthetic alone was so contrary to consumerism and the trends of fast fashion that emerged in the 80s and are still prevalent today. It took the anti-establishment of punk and stripped it down to its roots. That isn't even touching on how the introspection allowed the music to not just criticize what was happening around them, but evaluate what that can do to the individual. Grunge didn't go away either, it grew up in different directions with the former participants. Like how the music of Pearl Jam, another major contributor to the movement, continues to make music that is softer and more reflective of how anger and sadness manifests when you don't have your youth to fuel your rage. Or how former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl has been very open about his advocacy for LGBT rights since the 90s and has used his influence in the industry to be active in politics and social justice, now with the influence that his amazing musical talents have given him as opposed to just making music about how angry he was about the world. There are plenty of punk bands that maintain the spirit of grunge that still perform today, the kind that have a couple hundred followers on Instagram and have never been played on the radio because they are, in essence, underground and unheard, and supporting their art does a lot more to support real grunge than naming three songs of a band so wildly famous that their merchandise is still in circulation today... Being produced... But you want to gatekeep a girl being responsible by wearing a hand-me-down Nirvana shirt her dad bought in 1998 without listening to their music because somehow that's doing grunge wrong...

Happy Pride 2022!

I was commissioned by @deviantart this year to do a piece in response to the D*n't Say Gay bill. I was originally unsure how to deal with subject material like this, especially in the month of Pride when we should feel liberated and free to be ourselves. As a member of the Queer community, it felt hard to deal with such a political subject especially when I don't consider myself a very political artist-- my existence is unfortunately political, and it's tiring, really tiring, so I like to keep my art in an idyllic place where I am free to express what I want about gender and love and my interests, like fashion.

This is a serious issue that threatens a lot of us, but I also wanted to keep my chin up and approach it in a way that was morale-boosting. This isn't necessarily a piece to bring attention to the topic, I made it in hopes to create a piece that brought attention to Queer resillience-- it's meant for others who need encouragement.

I wanted to embrace my love of fashion and how it can be a powerful tool of self expression. In a world that tries to limit who we really are, I felt a queerpunk aesthetic really faced that head-on. I wanted the bricolage styles to reflect how I feel surviving this world every day: full of rebellious vigor and pride for who I am.

You can check out the rest of the campaign here: https://bit.ly/DAPride22

Burn your own CDs, mend your own clothes, rent all of the books and movies you can carry at the library. Feed the birds, don’t mow your lawn, grow your own food. Love openly and honestly, give yourself patience and time, feel the emotions that you want to feel. Let yourself live in the body you have without being told to change it. Be openly and unequivocally yourself, revolt against your government, challenge preconceived notions of what you should be.