SOFT & HARD
MARCH 2024
The Velvet Other World (VOW) is a duo of artists, Joshua Allen and Katrina Pisetti, based in the American city of Providence. VOW’s charcoal drawings explore themes of sexuality and body transformation. Inspired by Fetish and BDSM Fashion, they are fascinated by the liberty and strength that come with physical alterations.
Joshua Allen and Katrina Pisetti Portrait
Where does the name Velvet Other World (V.O.W) come from?
We were inspired by this micronation in the Czech Republic from the 90s called ‘Other World Kingdom’. It was essentially a dominatrix club where men could pay to have women pee on them. We'd never come across anything like that before, and seeing them make their own world inspired us. We feel like our characters have their own world in which they live. This name always stuck with us, we just added ‘Velvet’ as a reference to the texture of our charcoal work.
What is it about Fetish, BDSM culture that you find interesting?
In college, Leigh Bowery's body transformation really inspired us with how he mixed fashion with fetish clothing. We were really intrigued about depicting a body that was both revealing and mysterious like a fetish. It’s fascinating to play with this idea of revealing but at the same time hiding and therefore questioning its accessibility to the viewer and giving the figure some sort of power. Besides that, we also love fetish fashion for its awesome, shiny aesthetic!
Is sex a frequent topic of conversation that sparked creative ideas?
Absolutely. We are constantly sharing with each other content and discussing ideas. We consume so much content about sexuality, fashion and body modification, looking at manipulated images but also people that push their bodies to the extreme. When an image undergoes filtering or any form of manipulation, particularly online, it becomes quite two-dimensional. It gives off a sense of the divine or resembles a painting, appearing detached from reality.
"It’s fascinating to play with this idea of revealing but at the same time hiding and THUS questioning its accessibility to the viewer, giving the figure some sort of power."
Velvet Other World for Playboy Magazine Netherland
Are there any vivid memories from these wild research ventures?
When we started our friendship, we were obsessed with Playboy. We used to go to this one store who sold old vintage playboy magazines and we would draw sketches from them. They inspired countless projects at school. Playboy captured so many of our common interests. We loved the eccentric interviews where people would talk about sex, cheating and hedonism. All of that looks so enthralling.
Who are these characters depicted in your work?
We feel they are essentially self-portraits of both of us, as each one carries a piece of our identity. In fact, we even used our own eyes as references for some of the pieces. But at the same time, our intention is for people to find a bit of themselves in these pieces. We tried to translate our own fetishes, desires and obsessions. Translating sensory things into an image is a weird thing to do. There's a unique pleasure in observing them because they feel so soft and so hard at the same time.
'In + Out' 2023 by Velvet Other World
They look like they belong to another world…
We actually think a lot about avatars as well and how they can be a reflection of who we truly are. It’s a way to let us express our inner desires and be free from the constraints of reality. You can appear any age, choose any outfit or role, and that becomes your true self. These layers of transformation act like a costume of power.
It’s an escapism of day to day life…
There is a connection with the Playboy Bunny costume, in a way that there was a sense of empowerment for women wearing it. A costume gives you the freedom of being someone else and breaks free from society's expectations. Embracing a different identity can help you discover your authentic self. This fascinates us for this reason, similarly ritual, and roleplay are very interesting to us.
We can definitely sense the mystery and playfulness in your work
It’s definitely not that serious, a lot of what we make is cute and silly but at the same time we have these very specific interests. These characters are almost like dolls that we play with and that's why BDSM fashion perfectly intersects with various elements in our work. We’ll start having ideas about what she will be wearing and this will lead to us wondering ‘Where did she just come from?’ ‘Where is she going?’.
Could you tell us more about your upcoming show in South Korea?
We are doing a solo exhibition with the gallery named The Untitled Void in South Korea at the end of March and we’ll be showing some pieces as well at the Art Busan fair in May. This time we are focusing a lot on hair theory. For this show we inspire ourselves from plastic hair, Legos and other plastic dolls, and we revisit iconic people in the media. It is a mix of hard and shiny with a hint of adorable charm.
Text by Lisa Boudet