J. Slater

A Pan-African 3rd Gendered Southsider from Chicago(They/Them pronouns), navigating thoughts, systemic oppression, patterns, rhythms, contextual histories and fantasy all while surviving a society set out to erase them.

Joshua Slater,(CARBONYX) works in both the Visual and Performing arts. With a background in Theater Arts, Arts Administration/Arts Education and a studio practice in Film and Photography. Carbonyx found himself deeply invested in not only designing characters, story arcs and plots but envisioning entire alternate universes and "future spaces" as he would come to describe them. These "future spaces" include but are not limited to intersexed dieties, prophets, anthropomorphic sages, clones, fallen pharaohs and unsung Shamans of color. "Future Spaces" has been viewed as akin to speculative fiction (i.e. Octavia Butler who the artist cites as a large inspiration) and is used by the artist to provide some hope of change or relief in the next realm, life or world to the oppressed. Carbonyx's work has been classified as somewhere in between Middle Earth and Englewood and he views that uncharted territory, that univestigated, unexplored space as a playground for his ideas. 

Carbonyx's performance back ground comes to the forefront as he poses as the subject for a large body of work, utilizing self portraiture titled,

"My Mythologies". In this series of work Carbonyx challenges gender binaries, summons the magic of an alternate world, channels an abundance of "What Ifs?" and seamlessly comments on contemporary societal oppression faced by the Queer community as well as Africans and "Black"/"Afro-diasporic" persons around the globe. Much of his work discusses the suppression of mysticism set to the backdrop of an alternate world or history. With the usage of speculative fiction, they hope for  a glorius return to the spiritual one day. 

 

Carbonyx graduated from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2012 with a Bachelors of Fine Arts in Studio Practice, mainly focusing on FIlm, Photography, Performance Art and Fashion.