Fōkasu #94: Meet Arca

In last episode before Christmas I will introduce to you one of the most interesting artists I have discovered this year.

Arca or Alejandra Ghersi Rodriguez is a Venezuelan musician, singer, composer, record producer, and DJ based in Barcelona. Arca was born in Caracas as Alejandro Ghersi. Came out as non-binary in 2018, later adding that she identifies as a trans woman, and goes by she/her and it/its pronouns.

I see my gender identity as non-binary, and I identify as a trans Latina woman, and yet, I don't want to encourage anyone to think that my gayness has been banished. And when I talk about gayness, it's funny because I'm not thinking about who I'm attracted to. It's a form of cultural production that is individual and collective, which I don't ever want to renounce.

Her art — a grotesque cyberpunk visual vocabulary and disjointed, shape-shifting music — has commanded the attention of rebels across fashion, music, and art. She has produced for FKA twigs, Björk and Kanye West, modeled in campaigns for Bottega Veneta and Calvin Klein and composed a constantly transforming soundtrack for the Museum of Modern Art’s lobby using artificial intelligence. This year, she was up for her first Grammy and Latin Grammy Awards.