@gothshakira

In October, we spoke to the esteemed Montreal meme artist gothshakira; her Instagram account with over 56.2k followers describes its life course as: “tough double aquarian latinx learns to love herself through memecraft.” As the world of memes continues to build cultural and artistic legitimacy, gothshakira speaks about how her gendered and racialized identities play into the ways in which her work is perceived by the public. More importantly, she reflects on how these identities inform how she relates to her own work. As a Latinx woman, gothshakira conceptualizes meme art as a way in which people whose experiences have been historically invisibilized can seek connection with online communities. Therefore, it undoubtedly bears a politicized potential for marginalized communities. “I do it for us,” she says, “We deserve to be heard, right? We deserve to feel welcome in creative spaces as artists; women, people of colour, non-gender conforming individuals.” However, she also speaks about her privilege in positions of power, which complicates how she relates to larger artistic communities. gothshakira is passionate about allowing these nuances and complexities to show through her meme art.