She may be a holy hot mess, but her hair units are always heavenly: recent Glam nominee Hot Messiah!
Thotyssey: HM, thanks for chatting today! I guess a good first question would be, when you’re out in giesh do you like folks to call you “Hot” for short, or something else?
Hot Messiah: Folks call me “Messiah…” but I like “Messi” for short, personally!
Owning the Mess, lol! We are already deep into the holiday season… are you busy with any turkey or reindeer themed hair projects yet?
No… at least not intentionally. I’d be down to figure it out, though; I love the problem-solving involved in creating something I’ve never made, or even seen made before. My head is full of similarly festive ideas, though, and some coming soon to the shoppe!
Congrats on your recent Glam nomination for Best Hair Design! This is your first nom, right?
Thank you… and yes, first time!
You’re a well-rounded drag performer and multimedia artist… did you always have a particular knack for wigs and hair, or is that a more recent development?
I actually was totally against wigs for years; when I first started drag in 2016, I was a dedicated bald performer. It wasn’t until around the pandemic when I started to experiment with hair. I had no beauty training, no hair styling skills… just my background in sculpture and 3D work. With no shortage of inspiration, I taught myself to embrace hair as a material to explore the boundaries and limitations of, in spite of my contention for it. I love that I learn so much on every journey to a finished piece — that a wig adheres to the body, but also distorts it. As a wig is created, it takes up the same space and materials as you and I… and, by extension, begins to assert who they are and where they need to go. In a material I once loathed the feeling of, I get to have conversations that continuously expand my respect for its power, its legacy, and its latent potential.
Can you tell us a bit about where you’re from originally, how you began as an artist pre-drag, and perhaps some early inspirations?
Oh gosh. So I’m from Staten Island… thank you for the condolences. Growing up, music and art were languages all generations in the house could speak. I remember drawing at the kitchen table to the sounds of Ella Fitzgerald played on cassette, of guitar riffs from The Beach Boys, of Jack Off Jill ripped straight from LimeWire. A lot of different wavelengths complimented and clashed. I think drag formed this amalgam of the mediums I loved: painting, sculpture, performance, etc.
In undergrad, I was surrounded by this rich web of incredible drag artists — like Jenn D’Role, Sherry Poppins, Qhrist Almighty, Lindsay Blowhan, Slayomi and Maxxx Pleasure just to name a few — all of whom carving out their own niches and informed by their own passions and studies. They taught me that the scene is richer with lots of different flavors and energies, that it was important as artists that we compliment and clash and learn from and inform one another, not just for the art but for the community.
I believe you competed in “Untitled (Art Star)” a few years ago! What was that experience like?
Jeez, talk about art and community! Untitled and DJ Jessamess have really laid the blueprint of what it means to bridge the art and club spaces for the community. “Untitled (Art Star)” was such a delight to partake in; drag artists are the painter and the canvas, as well as the inspiration. So of course we are drawings, we are sculptures, we are installations and web entities. Drag is multi-disciplinary life work. Competing with Radical Ube and Xana Whoria in drawing, we all brought such personal, private pieces and yet the audience saw themselves in the most raw and aching parts of ourselves. The performance I shared was about this creature, illustrated in ribbons and yarn, who was doomed to become that which it consumed. A real “you are what you eat” situation, and a reminder that guilt and shame and self-destruction will eventually find its way out of your mouth if you give it space at your table. Break the cycle by admitting that the fault lay with the system: not you.
We love! What’s coming up for you as far as shows, hair, etc.? And what do folks seeking hair commissions from you need to know?
Lots of super exciting projects in the works at the moment, so fellow hot messes, just sit tight. Commissions will be opening up again in December, so I want you to pitch all of your wild, gravity-defying hair dreams! We work well with the weird here, so get creative.
Lastly: what’s the most essential item in your drag bag?
My keys! Gotta make sure you got them. Oh, and at least two bottles of hairspray at all times.
Many thanks, Messi!
Check Thotyssey’s calendar for Hot Messiah’s upcoming appearances, and follow them on Instagram (also their wig business’ Instagram).
Thotyssey 