O-1 Visas
Naturally there is a punk scene in Yakutia, the coldest place on earth, and from it has emerged Natalia Egorova, who concocts darkly funny illustrations under the name Xomeless. Her trademark style-—think R. Crumb plus Daniel Clowes meets death metal by way of Instagram-—has graced skateboard decks, stickers, tote bags, T-shirts and especially concert posters for bands like Sex Dwarf and Mob47. Nearly everybody in her digitally drawn pictures has a skull for a head and a body that has seen better days, with gaping wounds, stubbly hair and saggy tits. The precincts are dismal, ranging from oozing laundromats, nasty bathrooms and wrecked subway cars to a coffin six feet deep. But the verve is unstoppable, conveyed by outrageous colors—bubblegum pink, sunshine yellow and all sorts of blues—and the kind of humor that laughs at athletic socks, vomit, melting pizza slices, and dismemberment. Xomeless currently lives in Saint Petersburg but very much wishes not to.
—Lori Waxman 2024-10-16 2:10 PM