Attracting gazes all over the internet is Brazilian illustrator Victor Liboro AKA Quimera. Their work consists of elaborate, maximalist illustrations of neo-byzantine outfits on queer bodies. Drawing inspiration from the world of anime and massively multiplayer online role-playing games was how Quimera found their aesthetic which they describe as “very colourful, very queer coded and have a lot of powerful fashion”.
Liborio’s clever marrying of photography and illustrating result in fantastical drawn garments which drape over figures that pose with glamour, verve, and sensuality. In their series entitled Experimento Quimera, real-life characters – which include iconic drag queens such as Aquaria and Violet Chachki – are transformed into fantastical anime characters thanks to Liborio’s illustrations thus producing a fascinating angle of contemporary queer art that is fuelled by social media and the proliferation of fantasy and escapism. The result is one of embraced femininity but also physical power thus debunking society’s traditional gender binaries.
Now, Victor continues to expand their artistic universe, building on the Experimento Quimera series both with self-portraits and collaborations with more queer artists.
Copyright © Quimera, 2021)
