>"The Spanish artist Enrique Agudo explains the inspirations behind the deities he created for his VR film "The Pantheon of Queer Mythology.""

"The Pantheon of Queer Mythology aims not only to create unity and give voice to the issues affecting queers every day, but Agudo also hopes to shift the narrative at the core of queer stories. In his world, there is no room to question the power of the queer journey. Instead, Agudo invites viewers to visit and explore his pantheon. Below, the artist explains the inspirations behind the deities, from John Galliano to Grindr’s headless torsos and his own chosen family."

What if Juliet had fallen in love with her cousin Rosalind instead of with Romeo?” says the artist Enrique Agudo during our phone conversation from his home in Los Angeles. We’re discussing his film The Pantheon of Queer Mythology, a seven-minute virtual reality film that made its virtual world premiere at the 2020 Tribeca Film Festival, despite the COVID-19 pandemic. Agudo, an architect by training and self-described “fashion geek,” set out to create a world where he could explore his own identity as well as his artistic interests.

The Pantheon of Queer Mythology aims not only to create unity and give voice to the issues affecting queers every day, but Agudo also hopes to shift the narrative at the core of queer stories. In his world, there is no room to question the power of the queer journey. Instead, Agudo invites viewers to visit and explore his pantheon. Below, the artist explains the inspirations behind the deities, from John Galliano to Grindr’s headless torsos and his own chosen family.

Lesbian feminists in the ’70s argued that matriarchal societies would have groups governing. Governments would be made by collectives instead of individual power. In a way, I wanted the Zeus of this mythology, so to speak, the figure at the helm, to represent that value. I wanted to argue that the moving away from patriarchal systems of governance, and the moving into a collaborative matriarchal society. I made three different deities that represent different kinds of queens, in a way that wasn’t necessarily feminine or masculine, one that would have both qualities and none at all. One is kind of loosely inspired by Cleopatra. Another one is loosely inspired by Nefertiti. There’s a combination of female power that I’ve obviously infused, but at the same time, making sure that the story that I’m telling isn’t necessarily of the role that I think women should have. It’s more my call for a society that allows women to not only be in power but actually lead the way. I’m fascinated by Grace Jones, who is female but also incredibly masculine. Initially, I thought of Grace Jones as being this female role that walks to the beat of her own drum. The spirit of Grace Jones resounds in that scene no matter what because she’s a part of me.”