Otherland’ is an icon and role model. They are a drag persona living in a world that celebrates authenticity and challenges expectations. They are an artist, taking inspiration from different times, places, and customs in Russian history, experimenting with each through a non-binary lens to become something even more exceptional. At times they are both Motherland and Fatherland, at other times neither, a mixture of the two, or something different all together. They were born to lip-sync, be centre stage or to pose up a storm in front of the camera. They are the life of the party and invite everyone to join in!
My concept for the drag character, Otherland, came about in response to a newspaper article entitled ‘A performance by Russian cadets shock an audience and adds to fears about rising homophobia’. A picture accompanying the article showed a group of soldiers assaulting a fellow soldier and weighing them down with concrete.

Identity is a huge, ingrained issue in Russia and can be seen in its physical composition as well as culturally throughout history. I was interested in the idea of challenging why it is necessary to choose one established identity or gender. Why not something different, new, or ‘other’?