This week’s podcast is a very deeply special discussion to me, as I interview one of my favorite humans to inhabit this earth, Jeanelle Mastema. We met through the suspension scene, and though we come from very different backgrounds, our life paths converged over more than just a few personal interests. Suspension as art, the occult, and performance art seem to be the three cornerstones of our shared creative experience.
Jeanelle is my sister, my friend, my creative muse, my fellow bruja, a living Goddess, a Queen, a fellow Virgo, and a wildly talented performance artist. Some of the best work I’ve ever done has been a product of working with her. During our discussion we talk a little bit about our collaboration, “Tether,” but we go far beyond exploring singular pieces we have created.
Personal Note
This episode comes at a very difficult time for me, as 2023 has kicked off with a number of folks in my life having passed away, that were part of my journey through suspension and art. A couple of days ago, a very deeply loved member/friend/brother of our suspension community passed away. Rest in Power, Doug Smode.
As you listen, I hope you can get a feel for how strong the bonds in our community are; we are intimately connected through not just shared physical experiences, but the liminal spaces we have all inhabited through the medium of suspension. What we do is no trivial thing. When one of us passes away, their absence is felt like a punch in the gut. Many of us are hurting very, very deeply at the news of Doug’s passing, and so I’ve decided to release this episode as a fully free one, in hopes that it can show more folks the intensity of the connections we make in our world, and highlight our fragile humanity.
Starting with her history, Jeanelle shared her suspension & ritual performance roots with Louis Fleischauer of Aesthetic Meat Front (AMF), and Constructs of Ritual Evolution (CoRE). This is a wild place to jump into our world, considering both AMF and CoRE are the literal OGs of high level performance art that involves body suspension as a primary tenet. In contrast, I got into body suspension as a part of the New York HardCore, Drum’n’Bass/Jungle, and sideshow cultures in NYC.
One of the most powerful aspects of who she is, and what her work represents in my opinion, is an infinitely deep understanding of what it means to have and carry out intentions in creative and performance work. This is where the higher level discussion about understanding what body suspension is capable of doing for people happens; it is an entirely transformative and empowering experience.
Her statement “When I perform, it’s the only time, I feel full ownership of my body,” is insanely powerful, and reflects a truth that we as suspension practitioners and performers have a difficult time communicating, especially to those outside of our realm. When she states, “…what a powerful vessel the human body is,” I can see how this can feel like a generally vague statement to those new to suspension. For us hookers, this notion carries a sharp clarity that comes with a lot of weight.
Her growth as an individual tells a tale of how one’s identity doesn’t really change over the years, while the personalities and narratives we present in our work do mature. I think it's important to note that her work is not defined by suspension purely; it’s just one element of a very complex array of genres and aesthetics that makes up her body of work. From music videos and creepy photoshoots, to blood-rituals and durational performances, she has embraced what it means to be a multi-disciplinary artist; she is not stagnating in one aesthetic, or one form of art.
From our early days to now, we walked very different paths, and yet they are similar in many ways. Her entry point was at very abstract, surrealist and ritualistic performance work, while mine was high intensity and relatively aggressive. Very appropriate, considering back then LA was known for its fringe art performance scene, while NYC’s subcultures were defined by grittier facets like NYHC & Freakshows. Both of us got onboarded through public performance, which is a very different path than the vast majority of people who get into experiencing hook suspension first-hand.
Both cities do share movements that are rooted in decades long legacies of street art and fringe art, so it makes sense that we converged the way we did. It feels like it was an inevitable outcome. There is a crossover of not just the occult, and body modification culture in our work, but a shared love of extreme aesthetics in performance. We don’t like generic things, even when it comes to fringe genres.
I can relate to so many things with my sister from another mother here, especially when it comes to personal evolution within ourselves - and as an extension of that, in our art. Her journey from the early days to her modern incarnation as an established performer really highlights the importance of having a supportive community, that allows you healthy growth.
Us art kids have to stick together. Being shuttered into one medium or scene is very restrictive, and limits the amount of fresh inspiration we can draw from different sources. “Experimental weird shit” is such an integral part of what we do, especially when we’re manifesting work that falls on the fringes of the art & performance world.
One of the most fascinating things that we touch on, that most folks who watch shows like ours don’t really grasp, is our perception and connection with our patrons. We perform because it’s part of who we are, and we are additionally empowered by being able to share an experience with others, where they experience something that changes the way they think. And sometimes, they experience feelings that they had not before felt. What a rush.
Much like my interview with Charlyne, we inevitably touch on who we are, as humans that are not just esoteric artists, but total dorks in our free time as well. Being a multi-faceted human being doesn’t mean that all of our facets are serious and meaningful; it is important to let go and destress. The intensity we present in our work needs to be balanced with some silliness and levity, otherwise we’ll end up being boring nihilists that have zero enthusiasm about anything. While existential dread feeds art, I don’t believe it should define who somebody is.
The flip-side of this, is the serious consideration that takes up some real estate in performers like Jeanelle’s mind, in regards to whether what we are doing is respectful towards the practice of suspension & ritual work. Personally, I think the most important thing that makes performance art actually good, is when artists are being honest with themselves. When reflected in performance work, even inner turmoil and uncertainty is valuable and beautiful, so long as the performer is being genuine in their approach to it.
It sounds like she’s got some pretty crazy plans for 2023, so be sure to stay up to speed with her over on Instagram. You can follow her personal account, as well as her performance project titled IOVXTC for updates, and a stream of beautiful dark art and performance. Personally, I’m also stoked to work with her again this year, and you can be sure I’ll be sharing it on my socials, and on my substack as it comes into being.
Up next on Transmission from the Void, will my podcast with the incredible, GЯIFF. I am enjoying alternating between animators, illustrators, physical and performance artists, and back to digital creators again. There is a lot to discover, and Griff is one of those artists that has an very rich and complex world to fall into, in his work. Check him out on Twitter!
I will be sharing two a week for the next couple of weeks to catch up on some backlogged interviews, so that the information in some of them can stay relevant to the artists’ timelines. So, expect this podcast to drop this upcoming weekend.
As always I would like to ask you to help share these posts across social media, if you like what you’re reading, listening to, and seeing. It helps make it possible for me to keep doing these interviews, and sharing my thoughts and creations with you all. Gift a subscription if you like, it’s only $5/mo, which is the cost of 2 good coffees in most places!
Transmission 9 - Jeanelle