JUWELIA SORAYA.

“If I had come to the world as a woman, I would be dressing
as a man. I play with the genders.” --Juwelia Soraya

Selbstporträt
Juwelia Soraya

Selbstporträt: Juwelia mit Pudel
Juwelia Soraya

“I don't orientate myself in regards to other transvestites. My art has nothing to do with this. If I had come to the world as a woman, I would be dressing as a man. I play with the genders and for me it’s exciting to be another sex. I consider the week-end [cabaret] shows as art. I don't need drugs, I am my own drug. The world of homosexuals and transvestites sometimes is a little too stressful for me...too artificial, unpleasant, inflamed and excessive. I prefer to be more lounging, calm, and in a relaxed mood. Also, I don't take sexuality that seriously. I have been married for 20 years. What does this mean? I am who I am, I don't think about it.”
“In my youth, I have always been impressed by Andy Warhol and Quentin Crisp. And in my childhood, I always visited the Kassler Kunstaustellung in Wilhelmshöhe on Sundays. I was fascinated by Rembrandt. What I found really great was the darkness in his old paintings. Even if I avoid darkness in my paintings, they are still dark. Even if they have no shadows at all, in my eyes they have a lot. Recently someone told me that my paintings seem to be coming out of a Fellini movie.”