Boychild and the New Art Basel

At 5 AM last Sunday morning, I was seated at gate B16 waiting for my flight from Miami to NYC and attempting to mentally archive the countless fairs, performances, and parties that took place during Art Basel Miami. Amid everything, I was left with only one marvelous creature on my mind: Boychild.

Coming out of the drag scene in San Francisco, Boychild has gained recognition in the past two years as a performance artist as well as a model and muse for Hood by Air. Last Friday at the MoMA PS1 and YoungArts party at the Delano Beach Club, she stood on a platform covered in white paint hovering over a neon pool. Wearing nothing but denim jeans ripped to fit like a thong, her body thoughtfully contorted to the sounds of tracks by Venus X, Kelala, and Jerome LOL, highlighting muscles that seemed almost unnatural. I couldn't help but place her performance within the context of what Art Basel Miami has become: a party mecca as well as a place for high-concept art. While Boychild's thong jeans clearly referenced the fair's image as a place where the fake-tanned lounge by pools, she was also emblematic of the new wave of performances and installations that now define the fair.

See photos of the performance below.