Pauli Cakes didn’t become an artist, they was born one. “Art is something I naturally gravitated to as a way to cope with the world and an outlet for self-expression…It’s something that developed as a gift in my core.” From a young age, they possessed a powerful imagination that enabled they to see the world differently. As a child, they had a speech impediment and grew up in a hectic household that caused the artist to negate their own creative gifts. Eventually, they would recover them and as Pauli says, “I had a lot of content to work with and a lot of trauma to extract art from.” Working in their own plethora of mediums, one might see them engaged in all-encompassing performance art, illustration, collage, or digital art. Themes that continually take the stage in their work include life, death, sex, love, transmutation of pain and alchemy. No singular framework can define their multifaceted practice. Challenges come up at times around insuring their artistic integrity is respected and their labor is valued: “Assuring I am paid for my work and taken seriously, especially as a queer identifying femme with no secondary educational background.” Balancing so many projects across disciplines and time-management can be a challenge as well. “My whole life feels like an imitation of art visa-versa. I love playing with provocation and overt sexuality, especially when it comes to my performances and looks.” When Pauli is not spinning poison into gold, they has many side jobs. Their day gig at Gothic Renaissance on 11th street, one of the last remaining alternative goth/punk shops in the city, holds them down. Meanwhile, they moonlights as a DJ, nightlife host, performer and event curator. Look out for *Club Cakes* queer-centric underground events in Brooklyn & NYC. Pauli’s also doing a residency at Spectrum (@the_spectrum_bk), where they’ll be playing opening sets until the end of the summer.
Follow Cakes on Instragram @pauli.cakes & their curatorial platform @clubcakes