J BOY
She/Her/It
“The notion of burning feathers that come with the phoenix as a way to get reborn stronger from the violence and flames that end the previous story. To me, wings are an image of resurrection.”
- J Boy
Picture by Borjana Spassov
What can you tell us about your artistic evolution since we last collaborated? Who is J BOY?
“I'm still really focus on the way our bodies take the public spaces interact and get ready for the crash, it’s been 2 years since I answered your question; I would say the main change is the way my practice become more precise on the way I express and show vulnerability. I'm not any longer feel the urge to perform happiness and hope, I want to be true and honest in the way I share my feelings and experiences. Time and spaces make me understand how scared we are to be honest and truthful, how scared we are to be scared or scary, I know there's a game we have to play but those rules are not mine anymore. I am still connected to the environment I grew up and with time I have learned how precious it is to be conscious of different realities; our bubbles are beautiful, but I wish we could be more curious and care of anybody who want or needs to exchange. I am reopening my mind and body to talk about feelings we can all go through, creating bridges that let us walk with our pain and memories.”
“J BOY is me, I choose to use the same name in my daily life and in my work life because I don't feel like performing someone. I share stories: J is one letter connecting me to my past, my people, my future. It’s my name, the first letter of my grandmother name and the opening of many others words. BOY is my family name; a name with a lot of connotations but a family name that allows me to grow and become the plural person I am. I don't want to erase all these souls that build my energy to fight. I don't want to erase the story of this name and today I feel proud to be part of this family that showed me how each individual carries pain, hope, energy. I feel my multidisciplinary practice was born from the plurality of my people. J BOY’s practice goes through the body and across different mediums such as text, sound, installation, textile, dance. All of these give her the freedom to express the different glitches and perspectives our brains relate to.”
Pictures by Bobo Spassov
What is the name of the above mentioned performance and how would you describe it (and its message) to someone who has not seen it?
“The performance mentioned is the first concert of my debut EP CARE. The six track are split into three parts: La Sirène, with the track YMU and Tires Down, OUT as a transition that leads to Phoenix Mechanic, including Burning feather poem, and a remix of Jewelry and BF, heels creature part to end on Nos Corps. You can imagine these 20 min as the stretch of the time split happening before a crash, which in reality lasts 3 seconds.The bodies of the audience are an extension of mine, getting out of myself and looking at the scene; it's a flashback of feelings, an observation of death and rebuilding narratives questioning love, pain and harassment.”
In a description of your past work, you described your artistic inspiration being drawn from car tunning and modifying your body as if it were a car or motorcycle or a textile creation. In your recent performance, you were using fabrics to cover your body and wings as an extension of your body. How has this transhumanist perspective on your body evolved since your previous work?
“I feel it’s a continuity. Now my visuals are closer to what is in my mind but they are born from the same idea on how we feel protected by the bodywork of cars, and how we pimp our car to match our energy. I use this parallel first to express the way the people of my surrounding was using car as a tool to express themself like fabrics did to me and my research This transhumanist perspective you mention is also connected to the way my body and trans body in a bigger picture are objectified and used as sexual desire and experience, erasing the feeling we got as human beings, placing a soul in a mechanical, mythical form to remind it humanity.”
What is for you the significance of the wings used in the performance? How did they come to be and what are their functions and implications for the character?
“The iconography of the wings is a device to connect different parts of my research. I have been searching around the act of falling that become a choreographic piece name "FALLEN ANGEL GOT A CRASH" and the concept of « la petite mort » which means for me all the little death we live in our personal and collective life. This term also refers to a post-orgasm sensation as likened to death. It bring into my body the question of how we allow, embrace, get over, transform death and the ghosts that walk with us. The notion of burning feathers that come with the phoenix as a way to get reborn stronger from the violence and flames that end the previous story. To me, wings are an image of resurrection.”
Pictures of "FALLEN ANGEL GOT A CRASH" by Haolin Huang
The contrast (or perhaps complementarity) between the transparent high-platformed pleasure shoes and the dark wings was visually very striking. Was this choice of colours and textures made on purpose and what does it represent for you?
“Since this EP is a very raw and vulnerable object, it was clear to me that my body had to be naked. The tail, wings and heels are all connected to petroleum material creating a mermaid getting out of a polluted water. The wings are the side backseat of my childhood car, and the pleaser shoes become with time an object of power and liberation. Those raw materials are reconnecting me to essential and minimal forms.”
The performance felt equally vulnerable and strong, and almost confronting at times. What is your (or the character's) state of mind in the performance? What is she communicating to the viewer?
“It’s nice that you felt that. I really try to find the balance between those two feelings that come together: you can not be strong if you don't embrace your vulnerability. My state of mind in the EP is to share my feelings as if the listener were close to my heart. I don't want to serve good food just for the taste of it, I want to start a conversation, I want people to have feelings and decide by themself if they like the food or not, if they want to dive into it or skip it. For me it’s always about confrontation and exchange to learn,grow, share and start the talk. My body in its performative stage is my way to become the starting point for a confrontation that goes beyond the performance act but sticks and changes with the audience in time.”
The music you used for the performance was very distinctive and conducive to somewhat of a sonic trance in which the audience experienced your performance. Is this something you created yourself and what was the inspiration for it?
“With time the sensation of using sound and music that was not mine was starting to be a problem in the way I want to respect other artists’ work. It was a necessity to start building my own music. I always use words and spoken words in my work but I was initially scared to put them on a frame. This EP was really an open door of melting and putting a landscape on my text and I Found the inspiration in all the care I have for the people around me and how they inspired and helped the process. I didn’t know if I would use it for further projects, but it made sense now to take time to build sound material since it was one of the elements missing in my multidisciplinary practice. I always love how music can bring us into other worlds and reconnect us to certain sensations and times. I told you before about « la petite mort »,which is also the name of one of the albums of Eartheater; I love ambient especially to research choreographic movement because it really gives space for the soul to come alive. I'm also really inspired by the power of Quay Dash, the nonchalance of Big Klit, the energy of the dj SVDL that brings us in stories.”
Is there anything else you would like to share about this performance, and your wider work, that is not covered by the questions above?
“I feel glad that my work finds spaces to be in and people to be in front of . I'm proud of growing up in an environment such as Brussels,that gives space to fail, learn and exchange. It is really allowing me to get more confident and continue to believe in sharing. if you are curious to listen the EP you can find it on all the platform or through the link: https://j2b10.bandcamp.com/album/care.”
Are there any upcoming events/appearances that you would like us to bring attention to?
“For now nothing I can share. I especially have styling projects going on, but I'm of course always looking for collaborators to help my work grow, so hit me up ! if you want to see the styling project you can check the work of Nino Uncut a Brussels based singer that gonna perform at Le Jacques Franck on the 25nov an other date you can check on his insta @nino_uncut you can also experience the choreographic piece of Marcos Arriola: CRUCE at Les Halles de Schaerbeek on the 27 and 28 of November.”