In the latest of our interview series with queer artists, Fallon Gold talks with artist and drag performer Shannon Lester, AKA Sasha Z.

What inspires you to create a work of art?
Honestly, so many things. I am mostly inspired by people. Whether that be in a good or bad way. A lot of my work deals with the body and sexuality, so I am very interested in how different people navigate these issues in society. People never cease to amaze me. I am constantly amazed and horrified by human beings and that is where a lot of my inspiration comes from. I am a human who paints humans. Not in the traditional sense though. I tend to work with more subconscious or cerebral motivations than straight-up portraiture. I like to play with power struggles. I am very interested in so-called masculinity. I think that has been one of my biggest inspirations – trying to dissect this masculine culture that we supposedly live in.

Who or what are your influences?
As a child I was very much influenced by surrealism, Dali, Giger, and the like. These days I am super into vintage sci-fi and horror illustration. I am a painter but it is one of my dreams to become an illustrator!

Do you identify as a queer artist?
Yes, most definitely. I am a gay gender-queer drag queen who paints mostly weird paintings of naked dudes. My identity as an artist has always been connected to my sexuality and exploration of gender.

What is queer art to you?
Queer art can be a lot of things. For me, it is art that identifies a queer point of view.

Who are some of your favourite artists?
I am mostly inspired by icons such as Grace Jones, Divine/John Waters, David Bowie etc. For visual arts I tend to be attracted to more obscure stuff like romance novel covers or unknown artists.

Are there any mediums you haven’t worked in yet that you’d like to try?
I’ve tried a lot of different mediums for 2-D art. I work mostly with acrylic on canvas as I find it’s the most versatile for me. I’d like to get more into oils although I haven’t had the patience. I am also a drag performance artist. I’d like to get more into singing live as well. I’d love to be in a band.

What are you working on right now?
I am always working on various projects. My time gets divided between producing shows, doing drag and painting. Recently I produced the third in a series of big drag and burlesque shows called Embodiment here at the Mary Irwin Theatre in Kelowna, BC. I kind of rotate between doing drag and painting. The first half of this year has been very much devoted to Sasha, my drag alter ego. Lots of gigs and lots of fun. For the rest of the year and into the winter I’m hoping to focus a lot more on my visual art, specifically painting.

What’s next for you?
Well, I’ve been very focused on expanding my art career lately. I’d love to get more exposure around Canada, the States and internationally. Last year I wrote a homoerotic fairytale called ‘Allan in Wonderland’. It’s a transgressive, psychedelic coming-of-age tale loosely based on Alice. I have been slowly working on illustrating it and I would really like to find a publisher.

Buy Shannon’s art here