What is your name, pronouns and star sign?
James Dobson, he/him, Taurus sun, Aquarius Moon, Libra rising, lol.
Your latest collection is called 029A - JIMMY’S QUEST: A FEMME FANTASY ADVENTURE – what does this mean to you?
This collection was inspired by 90s computer game nostalgia and the work of Tāmaki Makaurau based artist Aliyah Winter. Aliyah's work manifests in a pixelated digital print composed of screen captures from film work, 'Rage' and a screen print in keeping with her Sissy Hypno inspired text work; It reminds me of text adventure computer games, but with more adult themes, lol. ‘Jimmy’s Quest: A Femme Fantasy Adventure’ to me, is the ability to dial up and channel some “femme” energy whenever I want. Gender can be performative in the same way that you can choose a character in a computer game.
Where did you grow up, and where do you live now?
I grew up mostly in super suburban Upper Hutt in Te Whanganui-a-Tara, now I live on Karangahape Road in Tāmaki Makaurau.
How has your upbringing shaped your creative practice?
I was a super nerd at school and only discovered my creative side in my last two years of high school. Being queer and kinda awkward, I always felt like an outsider and drawn to other outsiders. I remember making friends with some of the “alternative” kids and going to a house party in Lower Hutt that was full of bogans listening to Marilyn Manson. I remember being captivated by this kind of subculture I wasn’t a part of. I’m still super intrigued by hard-core subcultures, and experiencing them as kind of a cultural voyeur.
Who or what do you turn to for inspiration?
My boyfriend is an incredible artist and curator, his work and the artists he curates are super motivating. Makeup is also an inspiration at the moment, artists like Daniel Sallstrom, Lucy Bridge, Sam Visser and Andrew Gallimore are my buzz right now. I actually co-run a Instagram/YouTube/TikTok with my friend Andre called Beauty Benders that’s dedicated to degendering makeup and beauty.
What’s your dream collaboration?
Nan Goldin, doing some kind of Ballad of Sexual Dependency slide show but re-imagined on fabric would be dreamy.
If your label/art was a…
…movie?
Something heavy and arty like a Matthew Barney Cremaster film meets Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion.
… song?
Kim Petras Malibu.
… hairstyle?
Bald but with two plush LONG glued in hair extensions.
… smell?
We do have a perfume coming soon called “Morning Wood”, it smells like unwashed hair, clean sheets, dank wood and violet.
… car?
I don’t drive, but I saw an episode of RHWOBH where Erika Jayne and Dorit test drive a Pagani, and that looked pretty sick – It would have to have an iridescent beetle like paint job though.
Malibu - Kim Petras
You also sell some brilliant publications on your site; what do we have to read before we die and why?
You’ve gotta read something by Brett Easton Ellis, preferably Less than Zero or Lunar Park. I could riff on those two books forever.
