Caim
“I’m a trans, non-binary goth Pisces, living in Brussels for 6 years now! I’m an activist for trans and lesbian rights, fascinated by visual and musical arts, always navigating through the currents formed between my various interests in art, my political beliefs and a sweet touch of chaos.”
Portrait by @voyeurisme_contemporain
Pictures by @viande_rose
What inspires your work and what is your creative process?
“I’d say that life itself inspires my work, in a peculiar sense. I often struggle to find meaning in a daily life even though I’m deeply attached to my habits - but I’ve found myself drawn to creating about my experiences, whether it be drawing or writing. It originally came from ugliness, the need to do something with unresolved trauma and difficult conditions. I needed to let things out, and with time learned to make it help me to create something that comforts me, opens a dialogue and closes some wounds in the process. Art, for me, often came from a deep need to let things out.”
“My creative process is honestly painfully chaotic (that’s why I prefer to work alone, or with a few special ppl with a similar work ethic, a mutual understanding and a special bond) and because it is often about sensitive subjects, I tend to deliver creations that are sincere, raw, and hardly ever polished. But in this process, it has come to my attention that I also have to be aware of what I want to share, what I want to communicate, and how. I now know better that simply trauma dumping (at least I hope so!) and I try to create what I would’ve wanted to see, hear and read when I was younger.”
What about visual arts and poetry as a medium speaks to you? How did you get your start in it? What is your dream project?
“Representation is a subject that deeply matters to me, since I’ve been inspired artistically, intellectually and ideologically by authors such as Leslie Feinberg, Dorothy Allison… and obviously amazing people I’ve met who have helped me become the person I am today, and learn about marginalized identities, but before that I’ve always felt like something was missing, I was very lost. And it is in order to share a bit of the pure emotion that gets me when I get access to strong and beautiful lesbian or trans representation, that my work is linked to subjects such as trans love, lesbian identities, queer love drama and fucked up mental health and getting better also. I truly believe that I needed to hear about that earlier, and that through sharing stories of marginalized identities, we can understand each other better, but also find ourselves.”
Are there any recurring themes/issues you like to address within your work?
“I try to open dialogue about things that concern me such as lesbian and trans lives and conditions, and also do a gathering and archiving work to contribute to our often erased history. We need our stories heard, that is why I try to express myself but also share the voices and experiences of others, whether it be through visual arts, poetry, performances or edition. I’m currently working on the third issue of a collective zine that I’m curating called « Amours Queers », where I gather contributions from other people talking to me about their experiences with queer love, and shape them into a delicious and rich box of love letters, tears-filled poems and other dramatic artworks. It’s an ongoing project that I ntend to make grow, that’s meant to share the plurality of ways of expressing love between people from the LGBTQIA+ community, with my own sad dyke touch of course.”
How do you think the queer community can better uplift one another during these uncertain times?
“Concerning the queer community, I think we would all benefit from hearing marginalized folks out, learning from our mistakes, and being aware of our own privileges. Times are tough but it’s harder for some members of our community and it is essential to show empathy to each other and awareness to political and social issues like transphobia (especially transmisogyny), racism, ableism and such.”
For our readers' attention:
Caim is currently raising money for their top surgery! If you feel so inclined to, please follow this link to their GoFundMe page to donate.
