Flying Among the Stars on the Playboy Jet

April 19, 2022

It’s December in New York, and people are moving inside. The disease is present and plans are getting canceled. You stare out your window, and it's too cold even to crack it open to let the air in. You wonder when you’re going to feel warm enough to not worry about how much to put on before you go outside. It’s slow, you’re watching a lot of TV. It’s fun in a way, but you’d go somewhere else if you could.

Imagine this: you get a call. “Hey, Playboy wants to send a photographer down to Miami on their private jet. All you need to do is take photos and do some interviews with the models on the plane. It’s unclear how much they will be wearing. And, I think the Clermont Twins will be on the jet. It’s tomorrow, can you go?”

How fast do you say yes?

This is the phone call artist and filmmaker, Raheem Hercule received from office during Art Basel this year and he took the mission.

Interview & Photos by Raheem Hercule
Intro by Saam Niami

Raheem boarded the Playboy Jet on Wednesday of Art Basel week with the Clermont Twins and a number of other high profile stars. Raheem began his interviews with the Twins, who told Raheem that they only ever like to shoot portrait style. "Really tight," they said. "Even." They want to always be shot at an angle where you can see both of them together. They like to do everything together, even ordering the same drinks. Raheem wondered, though, what they don't do the same. One likes ranch, the other likes blue cheese. One loves oysters, the other can't stand the smell. This and more in the Q&A live from the Playboy Jet.

How would you describe Shannon?

Shannade Cleremont — Shannon’s a social butterfly. She’s more adventurous, spontaneous. She’s more of a risk taker. I’m more reserved. She’s the crazy one.

Would you call Shannon beautiful?

SC— Absolutely.

What is beautiful to you guys in a world full of validation?

SC— Beautiful is staying true to yourself. Self care. Whatever you’re doing you’re doing for you, no one else. That you’re happy at the end of the day, content with yourself. It’s all about yourself. If you love yourself then who cares what anyone else thinks about you. Live for yourself, no one else.

Do you guys do most things together?

SC— We do 99% of things together except relationship stuff. We don’t share guys.

What do you guys do alone? Do you guys do things alone on purpose ever? Like, do you ever need a break from Shannon?

SC— It usually just falls into place like that. For instance, she’ll go to New York with friends and I’ll stay behind, be alone. She’ll come back and we’ll work really hard. We have more breaks now, little weekends. She’ll go out, I stay in, or she’ll go out somewhere and I go somewhere else. We’re twins but we need our me time.

How would you describe Shannade?

Shannon Clermont — Shannade is fun, she’s responsible, stylish. I’m responsible when it comes to business but when it’s not business everything else is out the window. I don’t know how to act, she’s grandma. I’ll bring her out, have fun, and she’ll be like, ‘It’s time to go.’ She always knows when to leave.

You need that.

SC — We need that. I need that. I need an overlooker who’s peeping everything while I’m on the couch getting drunk.

Excited for Basel?

SC — Yes, we do it every year. We didn’t go last year so we’re just resuming the turn up. We see the parties, the art, the events.

What do you like to do alone?

SC — I like to write. I like to listen to music. Take walks. Smoke a little blunt. I don’t smoke as much as I used to but I enjoy it every now and then by myself. And watch some 'Housewives.'

You want to be on that show?

SC — I do. I would love to be a hot MILF. Have some kids. Get a man.

What are you trying to do at the end of the day? What’s next?

SC — My goal is to elevate my brand, my business, be successful. And while doing that I’m giving back as well in any way I can. Education. Help people around me. When I’m having a bad day it feels good to make someone else’s day. Making other people feel happy makes me happy.

This is now Jasmine’s third attempt to make me a drink, the first two she had to give away. How are you today?

Jasmine, the flight attendant — I am inspired.

We love that. What’s inspiring you right now?

J — Being in an environment that we helped create and watching people enjoy it.

Are you gonna be able to enjoy Basel at all?

J — I won’t because we’ll be flying right back. We’ll be flying back and forth between New York, LA, and Miami.

Are you stressed at all?

J — Yes.

Why?

J — I hope all our plans fall into place and that we do create an environment that people can enjoy. Like this morning, we were wheels up at 6am, got to Miami, reset the aircraft for new passengers, fly to New York, and now we’re flying back to Miami. It’s worth it though. We see people in their element and create on the whim in the space that you’re stressed out about.

So you’re curating whether it be spaces or a vibe.

J — It’s the part of the job I enjoy the most.

So you’re a curator of music and sound and vibe and space.

Mia Moretti — At this point, it feels like it’s who I am and what I know. Part of my soul. It doesn’t feel like I’m doing work, I’m just adding to a space. It’s setting an ambiance of what I need to feel good. Switch a mood when you walk into a space.

How much are you DJing for yourself and how much is for the audience?

MM — I’m always doing it for myself but I always say if someone leaves a space feeling different in a way that it’s better then I have done my job. And sometimes I want that person to be me.

DJing is what brings you to Basel. Is this the first string of events you’re doing since COVID started?

MM — Yes, 1000% The energy hasn’t come back. It feels like it has come back when I’m in New York or Miami or I went to France for a few gigs. I’ve been traveling for gigs but they come in spurts. It used to be so a part of my life and I would only ever get a few days off. Now I’ve retreated into my home which is really nice and good. It’s nice to get called out. It’s a total 180 for me.

Do you think it will ever feel like it’s back or do we exist in a new climate? Is it all new and we’re trying to adapt to a new space?

MM — We don’t want the same thing to come back. For me when you have that much time to reflect you think, ‘How could I have made these last few years better?’ Like, off the hamster wheel, the spin, you have a moment of reflection, you’re dying for a moment of, ‘If I could have done that differently what would I have done?’ Whether it was a fleeting split second or a year and a half. And some people didn’t stop at all during the pandemic. Being in LA though, recently relocating to LA from New York shortly before the pandemic, was for me a major retreat. I had those moments of deep reflection and thought. Do we want the same thing to come back? When it does come back what will make me really happy? How will I make every job the dream job? How could I have done it better? When I’m dying, am I going to be thinking, ‘I could have loved this way.’ ‘I could have lived this way.’ Could I have done it better? And we were so close to death, seeing death and loss in such a close way. But with such deep reflection that we had, it feels like things have gone straight back to exactly the same thing. It’s not like much has changed but we certainly know now what was wrong.

Do you think Covid changed what kind of music you’re listening to? Do you think Covid has changed what people want to hear?

MM — I can’t tell you yet I don’t know what people want to listen to but for me it has changed. I had a yearning while I was not playing to play music that made me feel rooted in the earth. I was doing some self-exploration and I wanted to feel the music. I don’t just want to play songs. The music has to make me feel like I’m connected to the earth and I need it to feel like it’s from the ground up into my body.

I think because we’ve been so depleted of external validation, there’s been need for substance and substantial validation, and it can be internal.

MM — Yeah, very true, you put it in a really nice way. And what better way than from ourselves? That’s the ultimate way. The cheap way is to get it from outside.

It’s hard to think about how much you can play yourself, work you can do to get it from outside of yourself when you can just get it form within yourself the whole time.

Art

Pamela Sneed’s Speaking Tongue opens at Dashwood Projects

November 15, 2024

Pamela Sneed’s latest exhibition, Speaking Tongue, will be on view at Dashwood Projects from November 20 to December 21. The show features twenty watercolor and ink paintings inspired by her recent trip to Kenya, where she was deeply moved by the elegance of giraffes, the landscapes, and the energy of Nairobi.

Blending her background as a poet and visual artist, Sneed’s work reflects on themes of identity, nature, and connection. Her paintings capture the beauty and spirit of the animals she encountered, alongside reflections on her own experiences as part of the African diaspora.

This exhibition marks Sneed’s first solo show with Dashwood Projects and will be accompanied by a new book, also titled Speaking Tongue, to be released in December.

By Enzo Holdt
Artworks by Pamela Sneed

Art

Tiebreaker - Alvin Armstrong

November 15, 2024

There is a moment of silence right before the play. Just before the racket strikes the ball as it hangs weightless in the air, breathless and charged. It’s the fleeting yet decisive instant that can alter the course of the match, determining who wins and who loses.

Alvin Armstrong depicts this crucial moment in his new exhibition Tiebreaker, symbolizing the risks and rewards of competition. It’s an implication of something else at stake, where athletes push not only their bodies, but their spirits to the absolute limit.

The dynamic figures embody the strength, grace, and agility juxtaposed by the vibrant color palette evoking not just the joy of competition but the charged energy of the court.

Tiebreaker is opening Thursday, November 16th at Anna Zorina Gallery.

By Rea Brayshaw
Artworks by Alvin Armstrong

Art

The Things People Are Ashamed To Take Photos Of: The Photography and Films of Yuhan Cheng

Yuhan’s latest exhibition of photo and video work titled 窗子外 Outside the Window, Inside the Tank 鱼缸里 takes its namesake from what could’ve been a mundane encounter. A month after moving to New York City from Chengdu, China, they stumbled across an abandoned fish tank left curbside. It reminded them of “the rotating fish in a tank that faded into the background of their mother’s home in Chengdu”, a thread connecting childhood familiarity that transformed into a symbol of greater significance in adulthood. A tank is a world within a world; a microcosm secluded from the broader chaos of the outside. Since then Yuhan has captured the other kinds of “fish tanks” closest to them in their photography and short films. Not literal ones necessarily– but intimate confined spaces in Chengdu and NYC where time stands still.

In the midst of taking snapshots of loved ones, Yuhan decided to turn their tender but examining lens on themselves. They realized shooting self-portraits unraveled a deeper understanding of their own nonbinary gender and queer sexuality. Yuhan admits in one of their short films “I hide from looking at my own body.” Yet, in the seclusion of their room which doubles as a dark room, Yuhan began to develop their first nude photos chronicling the subtle wounds; bitten cuticles, bruises, and scrapes they’ve accumulated involuntarily, once again documenting the things people choose to hide.

窗子外 Outside the Window, Inside the Tank 鱼缸里, debuted at FAR-NEAR Studio Hours a gallery in Chinatown focused on expanding the art world's view of Asia and Asian artists curated by Lulu Yao Gioiello. The event merged Yuhan’s works from the past three years, including 70 photographs, three short documentaries, and one installation. There was something uncanny about the gallery’s atmosphere – from the dollar store teal green curtains obscuring every window to the clusters of framed photos mimicking how photos of relatives are displayed in one’s childhood home, to the darkened lighting that was both disorienting and cozy. All these details were meticulously chosen to imitate the rooms depicted in Yuhan’s films and photography. In other words, the audience was invited to Yuhan’s “fishtank”, to share the odd balance of comfort and unease of being known intimately. We talked to Yuhan at Cafe Reggio to understand how their latest body of work came into being.

Initially, I was exploring my friends’ identities through the lens, but slowly, it became a tool to confront and understand my own queerness and gender identity.

Ora Margolis— Were any memories/childhood experiences you had in Chengdu important to how you've developed as an artist?

Yuhan Cheng— Growing up in Chengdu, especially in a military household, shaped and gave me a source of contention how I understood my identity. There was always a sense of conflict when it came to my body and feeling like I didn’t quite fit the expectations around me. This tension has been a driving force in my practice, pushing me to explore identity and belonging in my work.

Tell us a bit about your latest exhibition Outside the Window, Inside the Tank at Far. What headspace were you in when taking these photos?

YC— Outside the Window, Inside the Tank is about the fluidity of self; our bodies, our environments, and our identities. The idea of water as both a symbol of confinement and freedom is central to the photos and film that comprise the exhibit. This fluidity much like how I see my experience moving between Chengdu and New York, where similar feelings follow me no matter where I am. Water mirrors the body, the frame, and the room, which are all containers of the self.

Previously, you’ve said you wanted the exhibition space to look "like your room". How did you make that happen and why is your NYC room important to you?

YC— My room in NYC is an extension of my identity. It’s where I feel vulnerable and where I explore myself most openly. It’s a manifestation of my sense of self. I recreated certain elements in the exhibition—the green sheer curtains, the dollar store shower curtain with bubbles, and the center installation depicted a self-portrait deteriorating in water, reminiscent of a fish in a tank. This room, like any other room or container, magnifies the tension of self-exploration.

Has your idea or comfort with your gender identity and /sexuality changed since you’ve delved into photography?

YC— Yes. The process of photography and filming has been a mirror to my own understanding of self. Initially, I was exploring my friends’ identities through the lens, but slowly, it became a tool to confront and understand my own queerness and gender identity. The process of photographing my queer friends and then myself allowed me to come to terms with who I am.

How did you and Lulu Yao of FAR-NEAR Studio meet, and what makes her a good collaborator?

YC— We first connected when I reached out with my series Princess of Funan River. Lulu understood the struggles and complexities in the work and she invited me to expand on those ideas with her. Our collaboration has worked because Lulu truly resonates with the themes I’m drawn to, like fluidity, transformation, and the intimacy of navigating belonging.

After completing Fish Tank and Remnants of an Amateur Film, what kind of movie do you want to make next?

YC— Right now, I’m more focused on writing. I need to understand what I want to say before making another film. Writing helps me find clarity;it’s a crucial part of my process.

What kind of camera do you use and why?

YC— I use a Canon AE-1. I started with it and I still love it. It's small, spontaneous, easy to use, and light. It allows me to capture moments naturally without overthinking.

What's your biggest fear?

YC— Being disconnected from my sense of self, from others, and from the things I love.

When do you feel most like yourself?

YC— It’s during those fleeting moments when I complete a project. That feeling fades quickly, leaving me searching for the next project to reconnect with that sense of fulfillment.

How do you want people to feel when they interact with your art?

YC— I want them to feel whatever resonates with them. I don’t want to prescribe the experience; it should feel right for each person.

Your work focuses on the close knit communities that surround you or various metaphorical “fish tanks”. What communities do you feel closest to?
YC— The queer artist community, both in Chengdu and NYC, has been a source of comfort and understanding for me. There’s something about shared struggles and shared creative language that feels like home.

What's the biggest difference between living life as a queer artist in NYC and in Chengdu?

YC— In both NYC and Chengdu, I’m learning more about myself. NYC offers a sense of freedom, while Chengdu is home, a place of comfort and history. Neither place defines me but both are significant parts of my path.

What are your next moves/goals?

YC— I want to continue exploring both film and photography, expanding my narrative style and experimenting across mediums. During my show, I found new ways of seeing my photographs such as by adding a window screen between frames or letting a self-portrait fade and grow mold in water. These approaches allowed me to see my work not just as 2D images but as 3D objects.

I want to keep pushing the boundaries of how photo and film can interact, and I’m also interested in trying photojournalism. My focus remains on collaborating across mediums and continuing to accumulate experiences that I can translate into sincere honest work.