HUXLEY BIRD
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Rat$trap (SFW)
🕑 Added 2025-05-03 23:28:02 +0000 UTCWhen Anabelle first sent me a photo of the mask she wanted to shoot with, I was like, "Um... no way." I'm already pretty protective of my time and energy when it comes to shooting with people — especially for a trade shoot. But I was working hard in New Orleans and really craving some weird, creative portals with real people.
Of course, dancing in the club there is always a mixed experience. I'm constantly putting on masks — sometimes to connect with really cool people, and sometimes just to endure some pretty gnarly ones. The last thing I wanted to do was spend my precious waking hours on a shoot I didn’t care about.
But then it hit me: the rat mask was actually perfect. It offered a way to creatively express some of what I’ve been feeling. I like asking people what they see and feel in my work, but I've also been told I should explain my art more — because my intentions don’t always land when I leave them abstract.
I think this shoot speaks for itself in many ways, but there are subtle details that could go overlooked unless we dissect it. Like the vaping. I call my vape my binky. My relationship to it in New Orleans is complicated and not complicated at all. I'm attached to it, it's nothing special - it's typical. And it's also numbing and creates a level of apathy that "helps" me tolerate harder experiences in Nola. Or that final shot I shared here: she’s transitioned to sitting in the rat’s lap, assuming a lap-dance position — seduced by him, or seducing him — and he’s squeezing her face. That moment was intense and existential, when I asked "the rat" to do that. It echoes the times in the club when men have grabbed my face and forced kisses on me, against my will. I’ve literally had to hold their necks and push them away.
On a lighter note — how cool is it that Anabelle made her entire outfit? Billiards-themed, from the fit to the jewelry to her nails. It felt so good to connect with another artist, fairly spontaneously, even in my exhausted state, and just create together.
Thanks again for tuning in — hope you enjoy. XOXO
