Ways To Be

VISUAL ART

Oct 29

2 min read

Updated: 2 days ago

By Julia Langer

I am Julia. I'm an artist. What kind of artist is difficult to say. I am a painter... A performer... The two are so mixed together I don't really know which came first. The easiest way to explain it is that I make things: paintings, theater, pirate combats, friends, costumes, research papers, punk shows... I keep collecting ways to express myself like they're Pokémon.

I never felt like a political person; I have always just had opinions about what is right and what isn't right. It's right to take care of each other. It's right to be able to express yourself the way you want. It's right to want to defend what matters.

I also hate being put in a box. Any time someone tells me I am supposed to do something a certain way, I feel myself scream inside. Society told me to be a certain way, and I wanted more than that; to question, to explore, to be free... So, I became a drag king pirate... Please bring to the stage the unique, iconic, heroic, panoramic, balsamic, erotic, pantotonic... Cedric Il est Magic!

For me, to call yourself a 'drag king' is political. It is a way to question the boxes society puts us in, and invites everyone around you to question it too. It is a moment where you can be a pretty princess that screams into the void, an androgynous succubus desiring everything in its path, or someone that unzips their boots in the same way you might unzip your soul.

Welcome to my world...

A mixed-media painting of a bearded figure with long brown hair, wearing a blue and yellow-green top and dark blue trousers. He sits twisted on a chair, hugging one knee and unzipping a tall boot, and looks at the viewer with a smile. Handwritten text fills the pink and blue background, including the phrases ‘Be Dangerous’ and ‘Just Create’.

Unzipped

This mixed media painting (pencil, acrylic paint, and oil paint) of Cedric Il est Magic, Drag King Pirate Extraordinaire, implores the viewer to express themselves honestly and radically, an act of defiance. Exist, and exist loudly. Unzip who you are; it might just change the world. This painting started with a 4-hour session of stream-of-consciousness writing directly on the canvas. It calls you to do... anything. It doesn't matter what. Just try.

An oil painting of a pink-skinned person with their head thrown back and mouth open in a scream, tearing their chest open with both hands. Blue ribs and a glowing green heart show inside, against a dark green background. Orange bands circle their upper arms and waist.

Belle est le Beast (Belle is the Beast)

This oil painting is a cry into the night. It screams, 'Give me your best shot; see my heart? It's an emerald; you cannot break me.' Peeling back the skin and ribs to reveal what may at first seem like a rotten green heart, but that it is really something beautiful that glows.

An oil painting of a nude, purple-toned figure curled on their side with eyes closed, one hand raised to their mouth, on dark blue fabric against a black background.

Desire

This oil painting is a deep want... of everything.

A mixed-media painting of a blue-green figure with a red bun and round glasses, wearing a red hooded jacket. They sit with eyes closed and hands clasped, against a pale yellow and pink background.

Meditate on the Magic

This mixed media painting (charcoal, acrylic, and oil paint) is a reflection on embracing joy even when it's scary.

Julia Langer (she/her) is an oil painter and drag performer exploring authenticity through personal stories. Taking experiences and pushing them to the extreme – of emotions, reactions, and feelings – Julia hopes to allow viewers to see their own experiences reflected in the absurdity. She does this with the hopes of allowing others to feel seen, and less alone in their own experiences. Find out more about Julia at julialanger.com. Follow Julia on Instagram: @julia.langer.art and @circus.julia