I exist in-between. The vast intersections of the points and places in which I exist as a person are the root of where my work exists. I have spent my life balancing these points and seeking a sense of place, making sense of the complexity of who I am. I was born and raised in Appalachia, a predominantly white and poor area, raised by a white mother and the strong women of her family in the absence of my  black father. I am queer, I am Trans, I am black, I am white, I am Appalachian. Growing up visibly black in an area without representation, and without the full, welcoming embrace of the totality of myself within any one of my disparate communities, has made me more aware of myself and the social contexts in which I exist; in the absence of wider social affirmation, I have had to focus on who I am, finding my own identity and affirming its value to myself. Now, I am an artist, an advocate for my communities, a witch, a drag queen, a mentor and educator. It is between these spaces and roles that I exist, and through sculpture, painting, performance, installation, drag, ritual, magic, and outreach, I make work that grounds me and represents the nexuses in which I exist and the communities that nurture and support them. 

At the core of my practice, I document the undocumented, to insist on expanding what is valued in academic and historical spaces. My home communities (Black, Appalachian, Trans, Queer) rely on largely oral and embodied traditions to share information, to sustain ourselves and bloom in hostile soil; as a person who crosses between worlds of grassroots queer/Black survival and relatively well-resourced and respected cultural spaces, I strive to carry what matters along with me. Presently, this looks like creating a pantheon of gods representing queer intimacy, bodies, symbols, words, snippets of culture that represent myself and my people, carrying our sacred forms, language, and histories to the divine.

In considering world history, often we see the prominence of religion, faith, myths of ages past, imagery and iconography saturating the canon. I work to express the magic of queer, trans, and Black flourishing in an explicitly sacred context

Currently living and working in Peoria, IL

Email:  xander9210@gmail.com

Instagram: @ms_alexander_martin

@ArtemisiaVanHo

 Project1612:  project16twelve@gmail.com

              hhttp://project1612.com 

Peoria Guild of Black Artists: Peoriagoba.com

Peoriagoba@gmail.com