Meet Neo from Die Horny
Name, pronouns and star sign?
Neo Frost, she/they and Leo.
Where did you grow up, and where do you live now?
I was born in Aotearoa and moved to Australia when I was five years old. I grew up in sunny Queensland. I’ve been living in Narrm now for fifteen years.
How has your upbringing shaped your creative practice?
My mother is German, and my father is Maori. I also lived with my Swiss and French godparents for three years between the age of 5-8.
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My mother heavily influences my work. She’s from Berlin and is an artist/musician – a woman of many talents. I used to think my mother was the weirdest person on the planet, but now we are so much alike. She would put me to sleep playing the classical piano every evening. She loved music and film; we would watch foreign movies together. She introduced me to a lot of underground European music like- Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft, Der Plan, Nina Hagen, Grauzone. Her music taste was exquisite, so unique to anything I heard in my teenage years growing up in Australia. That’s where my taste for weird and obscure things was born and is now reflected in my art.
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My godparents used to play French and classical music with me as a young child; our days were filled with dress ups, painting, cheese fondue, learning French and spending a lot of time outdoors.
I used to paint with different mediums abstractly, and I've found a way to transfer that onto garments. My work is influenced by colour, touch, sound, architecture, experimental film and European culture. These things are my language; it’s how I speak. I am dyslexic, so I’ve always had trouble in school. But I could express myself through art, and that’s where I shined. I don’t have a plan when I create garments; I choose my fabric and colours and then experiment with what I have. I like to get lost in the music and see where the weird journey takes me.
What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally?
Intelligence. The sun, imperfections in art, Avant-Garde film, sound, like warped images, distortion, and unconventional things.
Metropolis film, 1927
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What turns you off?
Negativity, greediness, selfishness.
What does community mean to you?
A community is a place where all are welcome, can come together and feel safe no matter what your ethnic background or gender is. A place where we can bond, feel loved and support one another. A place where we can take care of each other, listen, understand and help each other.
What’s your dream collaboration?
It would be collaborating with Dutch Designer ‘Iris Van Herpen’, with sound by the composer ‘William Basinski’ and visuals by experimental film artist ‘Stan Brakhage’.
If your label/art was a…
… song?
William Basinski- Disintegration loops; continuous, infinite, inferior, warped. My garments would be a mixture of genres, static, classical violin, experimental, soundscapes, industrial, noise, dark, ambient and drone.
… meal?
A platter of assorted Nigiri sushi. Each piece is individual with layers, textures, colours, and sensations.
… smell?
Smokey, dark chocolate, bergamot.
… human?
Me. Die Horny is an expression of myself.
… designer piece?
I feel like I could answer this question better if the ‘designer’ was replaced with an ‘artist’. My work is abstract designs on clothing, experimenting with textures and different fabrics. It’s how I would paint, but instead of a blank canvas, I'm using another medium. I’m inspired by textures, film, drawing and painting rather than a specific designer/designer piece. Think, artists like Jan Svankmajer and Wassily Kandinsky.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
“Except your failures and learn from your bad experiences.”
Failure has helped me to get where I am now. Everyone makes wrong decisions, and that’s okay because you learn from these mistakes, and it’s not a bad thing; it helps you grow and become wiser; we are only human. If I didn’t go through some huge business failures in my life, I wouldn’t be where I am today.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever given?
Imperfections are beautiful. Everything is an experiment. Nothing is ever finished. Always put time aside for creativity.
