Open Letter On Self- Love
Theo FFlux is the Fetish Entertainment Alter Ego of Author, Poet, Fashion Model, and Advocate Christopher James. ____________________________________________________________________________________
Hello everyone,
Thank you for taking the time to come see my work and supporting me as a queer differently-abled artist.
Art has always been my way of expressing myself.
Growing up as a disabled child with non-verbal autism, scoliosis and a rare spinal tumour I lived a very restricted physical life, which became even more limited for some years after undergoing three intensive spinal fusion operations.
Since I was unable to interact with other children and often alone, I found a way to free myself from those restrictions as best I could.
Lucky for me, I have never been short on imagination and a wonder for the world around me. So, I found my way to explore it through art.
All of what I have learned is self-taught.
As an adult, I managed to free myself of the weight of these now somewhat lessened restrictions by travelling the world and living in various cities across multiple countries from the USA to Europe as I fully immersed myself in other cultures and communities.
My biggest freedom came when I fully accepted myself as a Gay man, and that I did not fit the binary society had placed upon me at a young age.
I also learned to take the spinal tumour (syrinx) I was born with as a reminder that life is very short. Accepting that my body could give out on me entirely at any moment, I decided I was never going to let myself be placed in a box.
At the age of twenty-two I found acceptance and my chosen-family in the Queer and Fetish Community.
My first alter-ego Struggle Pup helped me let go of my anxiety and fear, and my fellow misfits helped me find a confidence within myself I never dreamt I would have.
Fast-forward to today, and my rebirth as Theo FFlux I have come to find my truest self.
While my tumour has flared and created new obstacles and the clarity that my life will not be a long one, it has also given me immense strength and knowledge that in giving in to accepting this, I have also come in to my power.
My art, like myself, are unapologetically queer, and a love letter to the community that has not just given me a home, but saved my life multiple times.
All of my pieces are hand-painted and I offer a choice of hand-painted direct or hand-painted and then digitized for clarity on most items in my shop.
These pieces are some of the first I had managed to paint in nearly a decade as my tumour made my hands unable to hold a brush, let alone create.
Because of this, I am never certain on when my next pieces will (pr if they ever will) be painted.
Instead of seeing this as a sad thing, I choose to see it as a beautiful stark reminder that life and our abilities are all gifts, and that we must use them while we can.
My goal has always been to show others that they are capable of anything their heart desires if they set their mind to it and find a way that works for them.
That there isn't a mould to be broken, rather a unique path to be taken.
That the only way to live in a world you dream of, is to create it yourself.
With every step, and every stroke of the paint brush, you can create something from nothing.
Just as with life, when you feel there is something missing, or that something needs to change, you have the power to do so.
If there is one thing I have always aimed to do, it is to leave the world a little brighter than when I came in to it, and to give not just hope, but a little laugh to all of those I touch.
I hope my work helps you embrace your uniqueness and helps you let go of the weight of a world that tells you who you are supposed to be.
You decide who you are, and when you embrace it, life itself becomes art.
With love,
Theo FFlux | Christopher James
Hello everyone,
Thank you for taking the time to come see my work and supporting me as a queer differently-abled artist.
Art has always been my way of expressing myself.
Growing up as a disabled child with non-verbal autism, scoliosis and a rare spinal tumour I lived a very restricted physical life, which became even more limited for some years after undergoing three intensive spinal fusion operations.
Since I was unable to interact with other children and often alone, I found a way to free myself from those restrictions as best I could.
Lucky for me, I have never been short on imagination and a wonder for the world around me. So, I found my way to explore it through art.
All of what I have learned is self-taught.
As an adult, I managed to free myself of the weight of these now somewhat lessened restrictions by travelling the world and living in various cities across multiple countries from the USA to Europe as I fully immersed myself in other cultures and communities.
My biggest freedom came when I fully accepted myself as a Gay man, and that I did not fit the binary society had placed upon me at a young age.
I also learned to take the spinal tumour (syrinx) I was born with as a reminder that life is very short. Accepting that my body could give out on me entirely at any moment, I decided I was never going to let myself be placed in a box.
At the age of twenty-two I found acceptance and my chosen-family in the Queer and Fetish Community.
My first alter-ego Struggle Pup helped me let go of my anxiety and fear, and my fellow misfits helped me find a confidence within myself I never dreamt I would have.
Fast-forward to today, and my rebirth as Theo FFlux I have come to find my truest self.
While my tumour has flared and created new obstacles and the clarity that my life will not be a long one, it has also given me immense strength and knowledge that in giving in to accepting this, I have also come in to my power.
My art, like myself, are unapologetically queer, and a love letter to the community that has not just given me a home, but saved my life multiple times.
All of my pieces are hand-painted and I offer a choice of hand-painted direct or hand-painted and then digitized for clarity on most items in my shop.
These pieces are some of the first I had managed to paint in nearly a decade as my tumour made my hands unable to hold a brush, let alone create.
Because of this, I am never certain on when my next pieces will (pr if they ever will) be painted.
Instead of seeing this as a sad thing, I choose to see it as a beautiful stark reminder that life and our abilities are all gifts, and that we must use them while we can.
My goal has always been to show others that they are capable of anything their heart desires if they set their mind to it and find a way that works for them.
That there isn't a mould to be broken, rather a unique path to be taken.
That the only way to live in a world you dream of, is to create it yourself.
With every step, and every stroke of the paint brush, you can create something from nothing.
Just as with life, when you feel there is something missing, or that something needs to change, you have the power to do so.
If there is one thing I have always aimed to do, it is to leave the world a little brighter than when I came in to it, and to give not just hope, but a little laugh to all of those I touch.
I hope my work helps you embrace your uniqueness and helps you let go of the weight of a world that tells you who you are supposed to be.
You decide who you are, and when you embrace it, life itself becomes art.
With love,
Theo FFlux | Christopher James
0 items in your cart