Liz Achanta
We got in touch with Paint for a #DotGayQAndA, so read on to learn more about Paint and their art!
Introduce yourself: tell us about who you are and what you do!
I'm Paint and I am a genderqueer chaos magician, artist, and poet. I recently created a Tarot Deck (the Patella Tarot) based on my invisible disabilities, as I have a hypermobility disorder. I confront trauma in my work, and it is my ambition to let others know they are not alone, as well as craft a more hopeful future.
I write poetry about my experiences and use my art to connect with others. I am creating fashion that is based on the Tarot as well, going through a saga of poetry and fighting with therapy and Project Process to reclaim my ability to write long-form.
How do your lived experiences influence your art and artistry?
Everything I do is rooted in my life and lived experiences. I have had to go through so much as an invisibly disabled person with undiagnosed and unaddressed neuro-divergence for so long, as well as grappling with my identity.
When I was young I was very lonely, and I am still learning what community and healthy relationships really look like. Art —first poetry, and now visual — has connected me with community when I needed it most and I see its impacts as life-saving, both for myself and possibly others.
I actually struggled a lot when someone who once complimented my work passed away because I felt like they were exactly the type of person my art (and art like mine) is for, but it isn't enough to save people or witness them.
We need art that inspires discomfort, rage, and action — the “once you see it, you can't unsee it” type of thing. This becomes something to inspire us and others to fight for our collective liberation from the many social forces and societal pressures that try to cage in the self.
To do art is incredibly liberating for me because it is something I can always do on my own terms, allowing me to pause and listen to the needs of my body and self.
What message(s) do you hope people receive from your art?
I hope they find what they need. What they need will be different. Maybe it will be a push. Maybe it will be compassion. Maybe it will challenge them. Maybe it will reframe things for them. Something that inspires change and growth. I hope that neither I nor my audience stagnates.
What made you decide to get a .gay domain?
As soon as I heard .gay was going to be a thing, I pre-registered to get my name. I know I have a unique and powerful name. I know I am a unique and powerful person in the world with a lot of potential to make a difference if I am given the tools I need to communicate my perspective and ideas fully; to "paint" a new reality, to take charge in the face of chaos, to call upon a better future. I just love it and me.
Why is it important to help create a safer internet for LGBTQIA+ people?
I've missed out on a lot of potential opportunities because I was afraid about how to exist online. I was even made into a hate meme at one point. Millions of people have seen my face, yet it was not safe for me to "capitalize" on that type of viral attention because people were doxxing my work at the time and threatening to kill me.
It was also hard knowing if potential employers googled my name, a hate site would come up! I honestly did not know what to do and held myself back in a lot of ways and really let that impact my confidence.
But I can't take it anymore. I have to be who I am meant to be in the world, and I have to be unashamed of asking for what I need to become that person. (For example, I am fundraising for a single mastectomy for my top surgery). I am far from the only queer or LGBT person who has gone through something like this, and that too makes me so angry. There is so much potential wasted when people are bullied away from being their best, fullest, and most joyous selves.
Thank you, Paint, for sharing your journey of healing and creation with the .gay community! We are honored that you have chosen Paint.gay to share your story online.
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