Brisbane Drag Queen Jess Whoo Offers Motherly Love And Advice
Back in 2017/2018, as I was putting together my first collection of creative portraits to be showcased at The Brisbane Powerhouse during MELT: Festival of Queer Arts and Culture (Robbing The Muse: A Visual Translation of Unrepentant Geraldines by Tori Amos), I was designing the interpretation of one my favourite songs, Forest of Glass, and had to be very particular about the model for that shoot.
I described the concept I wanted to create to my makeup artists and stylists, Shylie Parsons and Li-Sa Choi, telling them the model needs to be otherworldly and able to embody the feminine and masculine of the character.
Shylie suggested I reach out to Monty Malcolm Thomas (unrelated to me ha!), a local drag artist whose alter ego is the fabulous Jess Whoo, and it became the start of an ongoing creative relationship.
Monty executed the look perfectly with his outfit, hair and makeup design and our guest friend, Mystery the Barn Owl, felt right at home with him.
We collaborated again the following year for my second collection, Stygian Stones, where Monty created a look to meet my brief of a genderless character based on the story of Hermes - dazzling, beautiful yet deceitful.
‘False Lullaby’
Beware the mesmerising song of the Psychopomp, for their words are drenched in deceit as they lead you to the River. The hand of Hermes has cleverly delivered me to the Ferryman.
It has come to my attention that since our first shoot, for Robbing The Muse, Monty has become the subject I have photographed more than anyone else! Does that qualify him as my actual Muse?
I love looking back over our work together to see how both of our styles have evolved over the last three years.
During our most recent portrait session for The Garlands Project, I delved a bit deeper into Monty’s creativity, asking some questions about where Jess Whoo came from and the love he has for his families both given and chosen. I went on to ask;
You have been doing drag for almost 13 years now, what made you decide to try it for the first time and how did that first time go?
“I used to make wearable art in high school and was a dancer also. With my love for fashion, I wanted to try dressing up like I was a model. My housemate at the time gave me her hair extensions I could wear under a top hat and I wore a creation I made in high school out of a corset and a cot valance. I’m sure I was hideous but I only remember feeling uplifted.”
You’re hot off the heels of another successful Mega Drag at The Wickham’s annual Big Gay Day charity event that seems to get bigger every year, how did it come to be such a huge production?
“Mega drag has been around for many years and it’s basically a showcase of our prominent drag scene in Brisbane for Big Gay Day.
Mega Drag became unorganised and messy through years of different organisers so they stopped it for a few years. Organisers of Big Gay Day asked if I could make something of it again. Being a professional dancer I thought that I could use all the tricks in my hat to highlight a crowd of people that deserve a special show. They enjoyed the first so I continued to create something special and different each year.”
One of the things I like most about watching RuPaul’s Drag Race is the advice Ru gives the contestants and I try to apply it to my own life and creative goals. I’ve heard Ru tell the girls that they can translate their drag persona and energy into their everyday life and I feel like you embody that and you shine just as much out of drag. Is that a conscious effort?
“To me drag is my ‘evil eye’, essentially meaning my truth. My truth is that I’m a creative free person. I have many ways to express myself and I feel as though I do that through everyday things too. So no not a conscious effort.”
I met your mum at your 30th and you’re like besties! She is really supportive of you and your craft. Was it always that way?
“No it wasn’t, but mum has risen to the occasion, though, because she’s always loved me. I’m very blessed to have someone that loves me more than their understanding of things they don’t understand.”
You are looked up to in the community as a drag mother or as the matriarch of the Haus of Whoo - how did that come about?
“For a long time I saw “drag mother” as something tacky or pointless. As I got older and did more with drag I realised that maybe I could be a positive example to a few chosen rising stars. So I started very carefully selecting special people to mentor aka mother. And thus became The Haus of Whoo.”
Do you have a particularly proud moment for any of your drag children?
“Too many to mention if I’m honest. I think each member of my Haus has risen and grown into their creativity and themselves as artists. I can’t take credit for that, so instead I’m just proud, immensely.”
If I tried drag for the first time, what advice would you give me?
“This is a hard question now because drag is trending. Some people want to try drag because it looks fun and their friends have done it before and some people want to try drag because something in their stomach draws them to it. For the ones who are drawn to it I say this... it’s not about anything but you, don’t please others and keep growing, which will make sense to them once they’ve started doing it.“
Finally, what advice do you have for young queer kids who might be following your journey online but are not yet brave enough to step out of the closet?
“I never like this question because I never want to give wrong advice. But I’d say something I wish was said to me - you are valid, you are not alone and you are stronger than the world says you are not. Keep going and take risks”.
The Garlands Project is a safe space for the local LGBTQIA+ community to express themselves and showcase their unique beauty with a collection of contemporary portraits.
The portraits and stories will become an anthology, or year book with the faces and tales of the diverse Brisbane community.
Would you like to tell your story with a collection of portraits? You are all invited and welcome, so please fill out the contact form or email me directly to register your interest.
XO
