Top Picks by Ále Campos
All of us at Public Sale are so excited to have our friend and neighbor, Ále Campos, join us for this month's rendition of Top Picks. Ále's studio is right behind Public Sale, and when we started thinking of who could model some of the vintage clothing we had coming in, Ále came right to mind.
Ále is a multimedia artist and performer in Hudson, New York. Sadly, for us, they will be leaving the Hudson River Valley in August to finish their MFA in performance at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Ále moved to Hudson in 2016 and began performing drag at the 2018 Lil’ Deb's Oasis New Years party. They have performed since under the stage name Celeste.
Celeste isn't so much of a character, but rather an augmented version of Ále; unapologetically emotional. Since 2018, Ále has produced the monthly Queer Night of Performance in Hudson. Often a themed show, the performance highlights queer artists and includes lip-sync, drag, readings, dance, music, and comedy.
Ále's latest project is called "Maseca Runway." A tribute to their grandmother and mother, performed on a stage supported by bags of Maseca. It is a collection of work that includes drag, lip-sync, performative gestures and film essay. Ále will produce one last Queer Night of Performance at the Hudson Waterfront on June 25th, 2021 at 8:30 pm before passing on the torch to another. And on June 11th at the Chaseholm Farm in Pine Plains, Ále will be performing a show called "Sister Sister" with long time collaborator Davon. Ale's work can be found at www.ale-campos.com.
At the beginning of our fashion photo shoot that took us to the nooks and crannies of Hudson, we asked Ále to think of what their ideal vintage t-shirt would say. After some thought, they delightfully responded, "Life’s a drag." Commonly a saying understood to describe the dullness and monotony of life, Ále told us, "I love the double meaning: Drag being about making life not so drab and taking all the things about life that suck and making them beautiful."
Ále's Top Picks were chosen for the power of the images, the feel of the cotton, the bagginess, aspirations, or because they gave Ále a sense of home. Three of the shirts, that Ále referred to as the three ladies, were chosen because they depicted, "sexy but dangerous women." On stage as Celeste, Ále prefers the bold and the seductive and the literally appetizing. But day to day, they prefer very muted colors like cream, tan, grey, and black.
Ále’s Top Picks
