To be an artist, you're basically a crazy person. You're extremely narcissistic and emotionally expressive. The idea that the world needs to listen to you is an insane thought.

I combine aspects of fashion, comedy, sculpture, video, painting all kind of in one multimedia sort of curriculum. New York is what gave me that kind of ability or freedom. People come here from all over the world to do something ambitious, and I think New York is really positive in that regard.

When I moved to New York a year and a half ago, I feel like I really was able to access my sense of humor and personality through my work for maybe the first time. The city has a really nurturing, positive kind of reinforcement...for young artists. Nothing is considered weird. Nothing is frowned upon. It's sort of a free-for-all in terms of experimentation, and I think that's a really great environment for someone who wants to work in a multimedia modality.

I think humor really is the most effective way for me personally to express myself. When I see an incredible formalist painting, I respect it. I really do. I see its history and I get it. But when I pass something weird or something funny, I totally associate with it. I find myself thinking about it later that day. That's how I know something is thought provoking. That's how I know something is effective.

The only way to make a criticism of something is to really participate in it. I'm a completely capitalist person. I participate in commodity culture and the fashion world. High art is a money-making vehicle. We're not making art in a vacuum. We're not shopping in the woods. These are all things that we do within the larger system of capitalism. For me to critique it, I'm also participating in it. That's obvious, I feel. In my work, I participate in the things that I critique. I satirize the things that I love and know well and find problematic.

In my work, I participate in the things that I critique. I satirize the things that I love and know well and find problematic.

I've been creating in some capacity forever. It was always usually painting and drawing, but I've been exploring more video and sculpture in recent years. But they're all kind of the same thing to me, in a way. They're all forms of production and output. As a creative person, sometimes you can't live without creating or producing something.