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The Statera community is made up of incredible artists, actively forwarding the gender parity movement through their participation in Statera Mentorship, Membership, and through their engagement in our conferences and convenings.
One such artist is Ash Prather, a trans artist studying Sculpture and Integrated Practices at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY. Ash participated in our New York Mentorship Chapter last fall. We are thrilled to share a little bit about his story and his artistry with you today.
Photo credit: Ava Trilling
StateraArts: What inspires your work most?
Ash Prather: I’ve recently been inspired by music that’s helped me undergo insightful processing and self-discovery, in addition to art made by people that have completely redefined what I believed to be possible in the art world. The Midnight Gospel, for example, has been a huge inspiration for me since late April. I’ve had a personal love of podcasts and animation for a long time, so to see those two worlds meld in unprecedented improv-like conversations on topics I have interest in has really begun to shape my perspective. (These topics span from psychedelic therapy to how energy is recycled through the perspective of magic). As someone who’s main art-focus is an uncommon one (soft-sculpture), to see work that’s also uncommon prevail gives me hope that I can too.
Photo credit: Ava Campana
SA: Tell us a bit about your journey as a trans person in the arts.
AP: Exploring my identity has always happened through art. From a young age, the art world was my key outlet to finding a voice and still remains as the singular concept that interests me. From slowly transitioning as a cis female to genderfluid and then to trans male, art has always been on my side. It’s helped me connect the dots to things I previously was unable to articulate, and continues to do so to this day.
SA: How is gender either relevant or irrelevant to your artistry?
AP: My most recent art follows a pattern in circus-like aesthetic and style, while maintaining expression of personal thoughts, experiences, and memories. Through the use of silkscreen printing and freeform pattern-making, my hopes are to alter both the perception and definition of “soft sculpture.” The faces that I repeatedly draw in tangent with my handwriting serve as conduits of self-portraiture. Within each piece is to some degree a depiction of my identity (black queer trans-male), mental health struggles (PTSD, depression), or influences that’ve played a key role in self-discovery. Although gender isn’t my main source of artistic expression, the fluidity of the concept still shines through in the wide array of materials I use. I feel that both art and gender are an open-ended discussion that a person can have with themselves and other people, so my work tends to revolve around ways that my perspective and ideas aren’t boxed in.
SA: When did you feel most supported or championed in your life?
AP: I feel like a major point in my art career was being named a Young Arts finalist in Visual Arts (as one of 20 out of over 500 applications worldwide). It was a major milestone in gaining confidence that I was on the right track with what I wanted to say through my artwork, and made me realize the points I attempted to make successfully impacted others. It was also the first time I’d openly expressed my gender through a portfolio (which was genderfluid at the time), and definitely contributed to my journey in defining myself as a trans man.
StateraArts: What’s on the horizon for you?
AP: My dream is to become a cross-country tattoo artist (while incorporating my Sculpture degree through projects I organize as well). As a pre-T trans man, my tattoo has helped me become more comfortable in my skin. If I became a professional in that field, I’d love to use my artwork to make other people feel comfortable too! I think it would be really cool to have my work travel with people and spread to places I have yet to be as well.
