<a href="https://leaflet.perrotin.com/view/529/toymaker-big-blu-the-weeping-walls">Trevon Latin</a>'s&nbsp;artistic brilliance comes to life through the skillful use of various textures, including sequined cloth, quilted fabrics, found objects, beads, and barrettes. Through the mediums of painting, sculpture, installation, and performance, Latin imbues each portal with figures that appear to be growing out of the frame, simultaneously emerging and constrained, in a state of birth and becoming alive from the other side of reality&nbsp;

Trevon Latin's work strives to evoke compelling narratives and imaginative worlds, seamlessly transitioning between childhood, adolescence, and adulthood while referencing the artist's personal relationship with the virtual and physical realms. Interview with the artist at the occasion of his exhibition TOYMAKER: Big blu &amp; the Weeping walls!!<img 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alt="page1image1117131392" width="7.239958" height="6.450920" style="letter-spacing: 0px;" />&nbsp;at Perrotin New York.
 Jenny Mannerheim: Your new exhibition with Perrotin gallery is your second solo at Perrotin. Can you tell us a little bit about the themes for this show "TOYMAKER: Big blu &amp; the Weeping walls!!" and what inspired you to create this body of work? Trevon Latin: I'm a grown adult person and I wanted to reflect that as best as possible. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; L'O: You apply various textures like sequined cloth, quilted fabrics, found objects, beads, and barrettes in your work. How do these materials contribute to the narrative and world-making aspect of your art? TL: My work is my drag. Drag is very referential of these materials, so that is my drag. I also grew up around these materials, because my family collected these objects. I use these materials because they are the best way to sculpt each image that I have in my head.&nbsp; &nbsp; L'O: Your work explores themes of childhood, adolescence, adulthood, gender and sexuality. These themes are reflected in your artwork and particularly in your new exhibition. TL:&nbsp;Recently, I got back in touch with my childhood best friend, which has been amazing. My work allows me to reflect on my own identity, in a therapeutic way. In childhood, I was trying to figure out if I was gay, and in adulthood, I was trying to figure out my femininity and masculinity. It represents the struggle to find yourself in this society. But, mostly the work reflects my time throughout the pandemic.&nbsp; The motifs of &ldquo;digital world&rdquo; and church architecture are used as ways to infer my experiences.&nbsp; I went through a metamorphosis through the pandemic and came out alive on the other side. This is my way of acknowledging that in an honest way&hellip;colorful and honest (or as close as I'm willing to share at the moment.) I think back to my creative mind as a child and try to apply that resourcefulness (through my adult mind) to the materials I use. &nbsp; L'O: Music has played a significant role in your life, particularly gospel music during your early years and the soundtracks of queer dance-club spaces in your adult life. How has music influenced your artistic practice and the themes explored in your artwork? How has your experience with gospel music informed your understanding of identity and self-expression?&nbsp; TL: Lately I have been listening to a lot of goth music, and I have noticed connections between goth and gospel music. When I was growing up in the church, I had to craft my own way of existing, so I decided to write gospel music. My experiences with church felt very oppressive and controlling, so taking control of music and making my own was, to me, my own survival instincts kicking in. It was making the best of a bad situation and being able to create. This body of work is a return to that line of functioning. &nbsp; L'O: The series of portals in your exhibition are described as recalling sacred architecture and exploring your relationship with your Southern Black Pentecostal community in Texas. How does this series reflect your personal journey and experiences, the boundaries between the sacred and material worlds? TL: I use subversion in my work as a form of healing. The Portal series references stained glass windows, so the church architecture is very clear, but the biblical stories have been replaced by my own. One of the works in the exhibitions is called &ldquo;Our Daily Bred&rdquo; which refers to the Christian prayer &ldquo;give us now our daily bread,&rdquo; where this character engages in very raw copulation. They embrace hands in a sweet release. This experience is one that I&rsquo;m happy to have engaged in. Looking back now, my earlier work feels very young, but in this work I am subverting this very traditional Christian prayer (title) into something I feel is attributed to my own adult-queer experience.

L'O: You depict a figure in a lunging position with a boxing glove raised. What does this artwork represent and does it relate to the concept of survival? TL: This was the first artwork that I created for this exhibition. I am contesting the people that I thought were open to my ideas and identity but really were not, including in the art world. So, I am fighting against these narrow ideas. Fighting for my identity.&nbsp; The character is punching through life. There's anger there. &nbsp; L'O: Each portal in the series depicts figures that appear to be growing out of the frame, representing stages of dysmorphia to empowerment, insecurity to intimacy. Can you discuss the symbolism and meaning behind these figures? TL: I definitely wanted the bodies to appear emerging and amorphous, because those are the changes my body has been through. Each wall represents themes or events that have been significant through the pandemic, excluding &ldquo;mother stands for comfort&rdquo;. &nbsp; L'O: Can you talk about the connection between music and spirituality in your work?&nbsp; TL: This is a very complex and layered question, but I'll do my best to explain. Music has always been an escape and a way for me to cope with feeling alone and anxious. My music taste has evolved so much. Electronic music is what I love the most. I grew up in church and now I've been listening to goth music. Goth has many distinctions and subgenres. Mostly, I listen to synthwave/darkwave. These genres usually use motifs from religious and folk music and are characterized-more or less- by heavy synths and guitar riffs. I take to these motifs, because, as I've said, I grew up in church.&nbsp; They tend to subvert these motifs to feel melancholic and brooding. It reminds me of the way &ldquo;secular &ldquo; music came to take from gospel to create catchy pop tunes.&nbsp; The gothic/mosaic architecture references, to the baroque-inspired imagery, takes that same approach. This show, &ldquo;Toymaker,&rdquo; is my first darkwave album. lol &nbsp; L'O: You made a 50 titles playlist to accompany the exhibition. How did you curate this 3 hr 15 min playlist? TL: I did it pretty intuitively...I tried to stay true to what i&rsquo;d been listening to at the time- throughout the planning and execution of the work. Some songs were repeated from the &ldquo;Trinket eater&rdquo; playlist. I mostly included music I was listening to alone and with friends. Such a good time! The playlist is always being edited. &nbsp; L'O: Are there instances where music or sound have been incorporated into your installations or performances becoming integral parts of an artwork? TL: Not exactly, but I do see that for future installations/works. I have performed my own music that inspired some work. &nbsp; L'O: The press release mentions that this exhibition is dedicated to your late mother, Shanda. Could you share how she influenced your artistic journey and the impact she had on your work? TL: She's always been at the center of my creative spirit. Throughout all of her illnesses and fight for life, she has had a no-nonsense kind of attitude that this body of work definitely embodied. &nbsp; L'O: The sculpted figure "Big Blu" is described as an accomplice and mirror for you in your practice since half a decade. Can you tell us more about the significance of this avatar and its role in your artistic expression? TL: I had a conversation with my aunt, whose nickname is &ldquo;blue.&rdquo; She explained that it came from when she was born &ldquo;she was so black-she was blue.&rdquo; So that's where I got the name from because I was dark-skinned in my family and thought it an ode to her experiences. I also love the show Blue/Black, curated by Glenn Ligon. Blue, in the state, is a representation of the connection of my teenage angst to my more matured state, now. They&rsquo;ve arrived and they aren't too happy with the state of themselves or the world. Life isn't fair. &nbsp; L'O: How do you see art contributing to the broader conversations and representations of queerness, identity, and marginalized experiences in the art world? TL: There's so many ways to express your identity, but when we look at the media, often&ndash;at least up until now&ndash;there have seemed to be archetypes represented. Like the anti-social nerd or the &ldquo;dumb jock.&rdquo; Where's the Nerd who's actually a fashionista and video game lover. Where's the black goth girl who actually gets along with everyone and is kool af? Where are these intersections in the media! I could go on and on. That's why it's hard for me to consume media because it seems to be still stuck from like 20 years ago. No complexities to character at all&hellip;&hellip;very one dimensional. &nbsp; L'O: How has your education in fine arts, Painting and Printmaking at both the University of Houston and at Yale University influenced your artistic development and the concepts explored in your artwork? TL: I'm very much influenced by all of my classmates and other people that I came into contact with around that time. They influenced the way I view art and create art now. I think there's a piece of everyone in the works. &nbsp; L'O: Looking ahead, what are your future artistic aspirations and the themes or concepts you want to explore? TL: The next show/body of work, which I'm already excited to produce will, honestly, just be me having fun! I want to explore more experimental material usage while also references to my adolescence. &nbsp;I want to engage more with my love of video games while tapping into feelings of anger/rage. &ldquo;Blu&rdquo; alludes to that in this show.


TREVON LATIN TOYMAKER: Big blu &amp; the Weeping walls!!&nbsp; Until July 28, 2023
Perrotin New York 130 Orchard Street New York, NY 10002 Monday - Friday 10am - 6 pm perrotin.com

Big Blu and Emerging Realms: The Artistic Brilliance of Trevon Latin

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