Julio | Los Angeles, CA

So, being in relationships is funny. Like, it is the reason why I love art, why I love making art. Because relationships and politics are things that you can’t control, sometimes. They’re out of your, you know, whether it’s emotionally, whether it is, you know, politicians just lying to you in your face, they’re out of your reach. And so, with my art, I’m able to control some of those emotions. And it’s been like therapy, When 45 happened, and I got dumped that day, I hung out with a friend and I went back home and, and I sat down and I was like, “I need to put this into my art”, ya know. Artists use their life to share with the world because I’m not the only person going through this. And I’m not the only person who was being affected by that election. I’m not the first person to get dumped. And so being able to share that through my art, it’s like I, I’ve, I’ve analyzed that, dealt with it, and then I put it out into the world. And it’s like a way that you let go.

I’ve created many pieces, but I actually started making a few pieces called their call “Because Frida Told Me So”. I started making those pieces and they’re self-portraits. Frida Kahlo has always been my inspiration. The first artist that I saw when I moved to the US was Frida Kahlo. And so I started making these pieces. Creating pieces about my health, my mental health. I’ve been creating pieces about my body. You know, like, always feeling as a chubby man – not desirable. Feeling like I’m not “pretty” enough. And I was like, “Dude, Frida has a whole work of art about this.” So I made various pieces after that. I think the reason why I draw myself is that nobody can tell me that drawing is wrong, or you’re portraying yourself wrong. It’s like who’s going to know me better than I’m going to that I know me.

Julio, He/Him
Los Angeles, CA

Interviewed & photographed by: louie ortiz-fonseca