Photo Essay: Third Gender Artist Paves the Way for Possibilities Through Performance
As a trans artist, whose name is inspired by the third gender Indigenous people of Juchitan, Oaxaca, Muxxxe opts to be faceless as a way to create endless possibilities for who they could be instead of adhering to gender binaries. Much like the endless mutations and influences of their native Tijuana, Muxxxe tries to free themselves of gendered expectations. "I wanted to be something completely different outside of being man or woman, I wanted another possibility," they say. "I find Tijuana to be an often chaotic, in-your-face and crude place, and my work reflects that."
Muxxxe, who also writes rap and reggaeton music, is perhaps most known for their interventions at the border. During Trump's presidency, when he espoused anti-immigration rhetoric, Muxxxe, face hidden behind a nude covering, donning a black pig tails and black leather, dragged a portable speaker and microphone to the infamous "linea" where cars wait hours to cross into San Diego from Tijuana. There, they performed reggaeton songs, intervening in an often hostile and politically loaded space. Through these border performances, Muxxxe, who is interested in art that goes beyond gallery walls and engages with public space, created conversations around the intersection of border and queer identities.
"Tijuana has molded me and has made me reflect on the relationship between this border condition and the metaphoric borders that we decide to cross in our own bodies and identities and being able to inhabit multiple spaces at once," Muxxxe says. "People come here from all over because they want to cross to the other side, but they often don't succeed and they get stuck in Tijuana, and on a symbolic level the border transforms into what never was."
On a recent Wednesday afternoon along Hollywood Boulevard, just as golden hour begins its magic, Muxxxe pushes a dolly, on it is a nearly 200 pound piece of concrete and granite. It's a near perfect recreation of the stars that dot the infamous Walk of Fame with the names of celebrities both past and present. Missing from the sidewalk, though, are the names of trans people who have contributed to the entertainment industry. This is precisely the reason Muxxxe enlisted a team based in Mexico City to make them a star with their name on it. The piece, which took over a month to make, was then flown to Tijuana, and then driven across the border to Los Angeles.
After pushing the heavy art piece down the Walk of Fame, Muxxxe, who is dressed to the nines in a sparkling white dress, curled wig and bedazzled jewelry all meant to recall old Hollywood glamor, chooses a spot directly across the street from the Grauman's Chinese Theater where a crew premiere of the latest Mission Impossible is happening. Once there, the artist, whose face and body is completely covered by a black bodysuit worn underneath their gown, rolls out a red carpet and gently places the star on top of it. Collaborators and friends who've helped Muxxxe make this year-long idea into a reality, snap photos, crowd around them and yell "Muxxxe, Muxxxe, look here! I love you!" replicating what a typical Walk of Fame star ceremony would look and sound like. Tourists stop by to take photos, assuming it's a real ceremony.
This intervention is part of a series the artist has cheekily called "Fame For Dummies: A Guide to Becoming A Star," which is meant not only as a way to reclaim space and call out the lack of representation of trans and queer people in the entertainment industry, but also as a conversation between their native Tijuana and Los Angeles.
Videos from the Hollywood performance, which was funded through a grant by The Front galleryin San Ysidro are currently on view there until August. Muxxxe's performance at the border is also on view at the Vincent Price Art Museum's "Sonic Terrains in Latinx Art"exhibit until the end of the month.
"I'm constantly in resistance, trying to reclaim space, trying to be seen," Muxxe says. "And who says I have to wait for someone to give me a star?"
View photos from Muxxxe's performance below.
