Curator’s Statement by Maxim Schmidt
To “bescare” or to fill with fright — a theme that definitively governs monster lore. Across time, monsters have been conjured to convey fear and terror; from these traditions, such characters have become motifs for otherness and the demonization of those who stray from prevailing norms of white heteronormativity. to (be)scare features the works of Amira Brown, Julian Miholics, and Yovska - three artists that use the monster motif through varying perspectives to reflect on their own sense of otherness or being. Each offer insights into a deeper connection to the misunderstanding of monsters, modern and antiquated, and asks the larger question: what is the connection between difference and constructed terror?
Amira Brown reconceptualizes harpies from their historical depictions - monsters often displayed as vicious birds of prey with a woman’s facade - into characters of boisterous, child-like play. Her harpies are no longer monsters of perceived threat, but children of difference who both tuck this difference into secrecy while celebrating it in spaces of comfort or safety. The two characters emergent in this work - Kiki and Lala - serve as stand-ins for greater exploration of stereotypes of black youth and the evolution of such stereotyping through growth into adulthood.
Julian Miholics explores many fantastic creatures within his multidisciplinary approach to art-making, but werewolves serve as a hallmark motif to his explorations of LGBTQ identity, namely transgender experience and gender non-conformity. The transformative quality of werewolf shapeshifting aligns with the inherent transformative conventions of queerness - the concept of transitioning, gender affirmation, and the overall phenomenon shedding one social “skin” for another. Miholics’ werewolves are creatures of joy, love, and queer celebration - perhaps a testament to the thriving of LGBTQ individuals in spite of an unforgiving, cisheteronormative society.
Yovska’s drag, at first glance, clearly turns conventional understandings of what drag artists can or “should” look like; Yovska explores drag through a lens of costumery and character development that amplifies the significance of monsters and aliens. Yovska’s reverence of these creatures in their work parallels their exploration of their own queerness and immigrant identity, undoubtedly creating a celebratory outlet for such investigations. With use of bright palettes and stellar silhouettes, Yovska is able to cull from their fascination with the paranormal and strange to create entities that relay larger themes of identity and sense of self.
As a curator and artist who has been largely touched by the monster metaphor in reference to my own queerness, these three artists resonate on the front of breaking down our conceptualization of “monsters” and the perceived “deviance” of difference alike. We — individuals that have been othered in any capacity — feel touched by creatures that have been outcast and dismantled through history in the way we have, in whatever oppressive forces and stereotyping we may personally and collectively face. We are drawn to the themes of transformation, oddness, and power that prevail through goblins and ghouls, harpies and werewolves. We share the same sense of endless, controlled history that these mythologies hold, and thus learn how to hold closer our differences in hope of being able to author our stories ourselves. We understand monsters, and feel that in turn they perhaps understand us.
Amira Brown: Artist Statement
Kiki and Lala originally started off as a project for somebody else but morphed into something larger as I began to delve deeper into the project. I wanted to focus on contemporizing harpies but over time I started creating a more in depth, nuanced look at them through my blackness. By using the stereotypes of Harpies which also coincide with stereotypes about black women and girls, I can unravel them through the complexity of my life experience. Kiki and Lala was based upon my view of my twin and I as children. They’re all the things you hear about all kids, but are still portrayed as children instead of nuisances and trouble-makers.
About
Amira Brown is an interdisciplinary artist, who creates work about the nuances and subtleties of reality and life through the black, intersectional femme lens. Through working on an subconscious and instinctual level, they allow imagery, history and memory to bubble to the surface through various executions.
Julian Miholics: Artist Statement
I choose to explore creating figures of those human, creature, and animal, all an lgbt+ being.
I feel a closeness to beasts, as they are so often depicted as monsters, the way we trans, non binary, and other lgbt+ people are seen in the eyes of some. They are also an expression of a transition into a happier, divine being.
My relation to werewolves is strong, they are often shunned by community like those of us with an lgbt+ identity, seen as bad or sinful. Like us they come together in a pack, a group of those feared, but always cared for and deeply loved by one another.
The parallels of identity have struck a cord with me before I came out as transmasc and gay to become only amplified after so.
These creatures of change and family will always hold a close place in my heart.
About
Julian Francis Miholics is an illustrator and ceramicist born, raised, and working in London, Ontario.
His work presents biology and naturalism melding and interacting with lgbt+ identities, creating a sense of longstanding community, continuing to illustrate our relation to lycanthropy.
His work encompasses ceramics, illustration, painting, and bone carving.
Bright and earthy colors give off a warm and comfort juxtaposed by alive, rollicking linework.
Raw, animalistic, and human identities merge in his work to create an depiction of an intimate, tender human experience. .
Yovska: Artist Statement
As a drag creature, my work is focused on expressing my queerness, and gender through the process of transforming myself into various non-human entities. This transformation or characterization however is not all that different from what might be deemed traditional drag. Through the process of self-made costumes, the application of makeup, performance, and various accessories I become a monstrous entity in contrast to my usual human appearance. The monsters and creatures I simulate represent my identity through the journey of growing up as queer and as an immigrant. They reflect the various levels of prejudice and demonization of the queer and immigrant identity by taking the literal form of words use to describe them such as “alien” or “demonic”. The creation of my work serves as a way for me to seek empowerment through the negative experiences I encountered growing up, and an affirmation of perseverance. I hope that through my work, others too can find empowerment in their own experiences.
About
Yovska is a Toronto based designer and drag performance artist. Originally from Mexico, he immigrated to Canada at the age of seven. He categorizes himself as a “drag creature” dressing up as different paranormal entities in original costumes with a dash of fashion. Yovska relates the themes of the paranormal and fantasy to his experiences growing up as queer and immigrant in Canada, queer identities are often demonized and immigrants called “aliens.” By reclaiming the form of monsters and aliens, Yovska is able to turn negative prejudices into empowering alter egos. Yovska’s design process is informed from his experiences participating in Toronto’s Kiki Ballroom alliance where he was recently granted Legend status. Yovska was most recently featured on Boulet Brother’s Dragula — an internationally known drag competition television show.