Gilles Jozef
“As an artist and a queer person my identity and creative proces have been shifting non stop. When I was around 21 I thought I had it all figured out, which was the biggest and best lie I ever told myself. Now I’m not trying to figure everything out and to be honest, I also don’t want to anymore.”
“My work is a combination of me exploring my body, personality, gender expression and history. It is reflective and at the same time subconscious. Although I work a lot with photography, I would never call myself a photographer. My main focus is still mixed media, where I use my photos as a medium. My art is a way of communicating with myself and with others.”
What inspired you to get into your discipline?
“I never thought about studying art or even being an artist, but at some point I was so involved that I couldn't ignore it anymore. Before studying a masters in Fine Arts I studied Architecture, where I constantly had to fight for my spot as a non binary, gay person. This created an imbalance in my creativity and mind. I had lost myself completely.”
“For a while I was only truly happy when I was on vacation. My days would be filled with trips to museums. To be surrounded by art was my moment of peace, my escape mechanism. For a moment I thought I was running away from things, but I was actually running towards new things.”
“I'm glad that I pushed myself out of my comfort zone, by studying Fine Arts. Being an artist has allowed me to be completely free, which was the most scary thing ever in the beginning. But now I know being an artist saved me. To have the freedom to express my gender expression, to evolve in my drag, to work with my body and to do the things I’m already thinking about in my head is a luxury which I’m well aware of every day.”
“My mom recently told me that she was so happy for me, because a few months ago, she saw me for the first time, truly happy and confident.”
Did you have any influential role models? If so, who?
“Well I think everyone around me knows my parents have always supported me. They played a huge role in who I am and how I work. Mainly because although they have their opinions and views on life, they have always allowed me to make my own mistakes and for me to explore who I am. There have also been some teachers who challenged my way of thinking and pushed me out of my comfort zone.”
“But my biggest influence has been queer history in general. In that regard I’m still being influenced every single day when I’m learning more about our queer history. People like Madonna, Grace Jones, Andy Warhol, David Bowie. They have always been present in my childhood bedroom. I only noticed how queer my childhood was, a few years ago.”
“Growing up as a queer, non binary, gay, eccentric, femme kid made me often feel alone. Although I always had amazing friends and family around me, I often felt like the special one or the odd one out. Every single queer person who I met as a kid or read about has subconsciously been a role model for me. It made me feel like I belonged here.”
What do you enjoy most about your work?
“The most important aspect about my work is that it allows me to explore myself. Some call it showing my vulnerability, but for me it allows others to show their vulnerability to me. The conversations I’ve had the last years about and because of my work, have been so important for me and for my practice. My art allows me to feel connected to these people.”
“Being an autodidact I love learning new media. As an artist I have never felt bored. I just skip to the next project or the next medium when I’m looking for a new challenge. Since I never want to fully control a medium, every new project creates new challenges. It also allows me to learn from the medium instead of me controlling and deciding how the medium will be shaped.”