When I meet James, he has found a little space to relax, to be interviewed and portrayed by me. His house is bustling for the preparation of the birthday of two of his sisters, which coincide on the same day, tomorrow. He is the youngest in a family of 13 children, but for the quarantine, the party will only have 15 people, including some of his sisters’ children. James is creative and full of initiative in many disciplines. “I had just started studying medicine in New York City in January this year, but soon the quarantine came. I’m 27 years old, have been a model until now, met many interesting people, and had a fun life in Los Angeles, but I can’t devote all of myself to that. At a certain point, I would like to do something good for the others.”
He paints when he is moody and has had some group shows in Los Angeles, although his strongest passion is making clothes with his own hands. His past is humble. He grew up in Helltown, Arkansas, where there is a lot of gang violence. When he was 16, he moved from his family farm to a safer and more comfortable life in Minnesota, and then to LA and now New York. James started modeling in LA when he was 21, and he also taught creativity to children in an art center in 2017-18. “I would have liked to do fine arts, and I have exhibited my work in some galleries, but I still don’t have the confidence to show it to people outside my close circle of friends.”
