Issue 20 - In Conversation with .. 9!

IN CONVERSATION
WITH BARRY BRANDON
"THE QUEER INDIGO"
Your art has been described as stunning
and captivating. Can you tell us about the
inspiration behind your unique style?
Thank you! That’s kind of you. To be honest,
what I try to convey is the freedom to be.
Self-expression to the front in a way that
makes you feel free to be. I approach most of
my collaborations from a perspective of the
individual community by way of togetherness
mixed with individuality.
Many of your pieces explore themes of
queerness and identity. Could you share with
us your vision for using art as a medium to
express these important topics?
Through some trauma many years back when
my words were mixed and used against me,
I turned to a visual medium to represent
messaging without words. I am getting back
to a place of using my voice more but my
medium for the last 4 years has been imagery
and videos that allow people to interpret as
they wish through internal strategic curation.
Your work has garnered a significant following
and admiration. How do you feel about the
impact your art has had on the audience and
the queer community?
I am taken a back by the love and admiration
because, for me, I am just being myself and
expressing myself as such. I quickly learned
the importance of visibility when my first video
went viral and I was receiving messages about
what the representation meant to people.
Can you tell us a bit about the collaboration
between The Queer Coven and Darvish and
Robyn for the photo shoot?
Sure! I love them both a lot and think the
world of them as individuals as well as their
body autonomy and ownership over self. I
was travelling to Berlin over Pride and knew
I wanted to collaborate with them. Sebastian
Kiener, photographer, and I were chatting via
IG. I had an idea to put something together
for us in a studio setting and what you see is
what happened. We shot all of the photos in
about an hour, maybe even less if I am not
mistaken, because Darvish had something like
3697354 bookings that weekend.
What was the inspiration behind the concept
for this specific photo shoot?
Queerness,
Togetherness.
Expression.
Could you share some behind-the-scenes
details about the process of bringing this
project to life?
Darvish and I had visited The Code to pull
the lewks. I am allergic to latex so I had to
stand outside, essentially in the door of The
Code to try things on because their store is
full of fabulous latex lewks I remember being
just about naked while people walked by in
Berlin. Robyn couldn’t be there for the fitting
because they were booked so I remember
chatting with Darvish about their lewk, going
through tons of pieces for myself and making
decisions about Robyn. I knew instantly when
I saw the pieces that they would be perfect.
When we arrived at the studio, we were all
together for the first time while I was on this
trip so we were saying hello to each other,
trying things on and laughing while at the
same time we had just met the photographer.
Sidenote, my skirt didn’t fit so I am wearing it
sideways or backwards, one or the other, and
the zipper didn’t go up so I had ass cleavage
in the back. I posted a BTS video on my IG
should you care to see it. A day to remember.
The Queer Coven is known for creating
authentic and inclusive spaces. How did you
ensure that the essence of inclusivity was
reflected in the collaboration with Darvish and
Robyn?
Inclusivity is interpreted in many different
ways. Race, culture, ethnicity, body type,
sexual orientation, gender identities,
differently abled bodies, differently
abled humans, etc, so the truth is, from
a collaboration perspective, it’s nearly
impossible to be 100% diverse and inclusive
on all pieces of content and projects.
I like to approach collaborations from a
perspective of similar moral alignment and
with that there is always diversity within those
intersections.
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