Parma Ham: my life as a performance

Performer, dj, model, art curator, Parma Ham became a celebrity in the international nightclub scene and popped up to the stylists’ attention due to his extreme look and attitude.

by Giacomo Pisano – english translation by Valeria Martini

How did this nickname came to you? We all know that this made a big fuss with the Italian renowned ham trade mark.
I’m vegan and I thought the name Parma Ham was cute, gross, and humorous all at the same time. The trademark tried to stop me using the name, but I don’t care about them.

Your life unfolds between photo shootings, dj set, art galleries and fashion shows. Can we say that your whole life is a performance?
I try to be as genuine and as beautiful as possible; and I’m constantly presenting work and ideas, and that’s because I’m restless. I think by others that’s seen as performative because it’s a spectacle.

What are your artistic influences and which are the artists you usually collaborate with in your performances?
I’m inspired by Kazuo Ohno, Virgin Prunes, Ron Athey, and Sopor Aeternus.
I have my band New Flesh, and I also peform with artists close to me – Salvia, Dahc Dermur VIII, and Wenzhelini.

Your image is very popular with photographers maybe because it’s impacting and yet extremely natural to you. How did you develop this interest in goth culture? Can you tell us something about your personal story?
As a young child I was misbehaved and an outcast; and these feelings made me attracted to “otherness”. Goth had this alluring beauty and abstraction from day-to-day life that intrigued me. I think the viral interest in me that I’ve garnered is because I have the spirit of goth, but I don’t imitate the past: I go harder, more extreme and incorporate other elements such as fetish, transhumanism, and high fashion.

Those who don’t know this culture and who you are, can think of a form of exhibitionism. What relationship do you have with your audience and with the people writing to you on social networks?
The reason for dressing is purely based on wishing to adorn myself with the things that I like. I love my clothes, makeup and hair, and it seems a strange suggestion for me to not wear them. As for social media, I’m not that keen at as it feels a bit of a vacuum, but it’s key to connecting to others; and I want the art, music, and fashion that I’m interested in to be celebrated far and wide.

You love animals and nature. Do you think that the recent lockdown experience can be useful to make people reflect on the importance of a cleaner world?
Though I think the lockdown experience will help a lot of people reposition and reflect; humans are terrible at doing anything preventative. Particularly when it comes to big business and money – they would sooner let the world burn than loose profits. I’m not very optimistic about saving the planet; since people around the world keep voting terrible people into office that can barely look after people.

You are a LGBTQ activist and very often you report cases of intolerance.
How is it UK in this respect?
I’m an activist by default because I’m agender and pansexual and very open with that. Even though these are still labels, they ultimately mean not needing to define gender and sexuality; and I act accordingly. I wish I didn’t have to go on about it so much, but these terms are polemical right now, and so my mere existence becomes a political act. There still exists a lot of prejudice; and until these terms become commonplace around the world, many people, particularly children, will continue to struggle with identity, so I have to keep pushing it. I’m fortunate to live in London, which is tolerant compared to other cities, but there is still a lot of hardship, particularly for trans people, and more so if they are black.

Finally an 80’s fanzine-style question: can you tell us a record, a book, a film and a work of art that represent you?
Sisters of Mercy – Floodland
Sally Potter – Orlando
Francis Bacon – Painting (1946)