Art

ICU: Bei Badgirl

Bei Badgirl is a Sydney-based artist who is extroverted, shameless and sassy in all the best ways. Rolling with the motto “Just be cute and don’t worry,” she dominates the art game with her light-hearted imagery and her give-no-fucks, bad bitch persona. Drawing influence from both global reality and online fantasy, her sugary aesthetic has led to her collaboration with brands such Hello Kitty, My Little Pony, Red Bull, MTV, and EMI.

Bei Badgirl mixes media, transitioning from acrylic to wheat paste to digital design. Her versatility has been a part of her wild success within the online community, and has seen her branch from the World Wide Web to the worldwide market. Bei Badgirl has exhibited in LA, London, New York, Tokyo and Paris and will be debuting her first Australian solo show on Wednesday November 6 at The Tate in Sydney. Appropriately titled BEI BADGIRL’S PARADISE SPECIAL, the tangible 2.5D experience will bring double the dose of kawaii, with no added MSG. (Although there will be free Japanese beer and Pocky.)

We applied three sets of fake lashes and then chatted with Bei Badgirl below:

<ACCLAIMmagazine> A/S/L?

<Bei_Badgirl> 666/gurl/internet.

<ACCLAIMmagazine> What’s your real name, not your cyber name?

<Bei_Badgirl> Yung Pamela Anderson.

<ACCLAIMmagazine> When did you first join the online community?

<Bei_Badgirl> Age 9.

<ACCLAIMmagazine> Be honest, what was your first internet handle?

<Bei_Badgirl> plastickitten.

<ACCLAIMmagazine> Preferred net browser?

<Bei_Badgirl> Tbh I don’t understand these things.

<ACCLAIMmagazine> How many hours a day do you spend online?

<Bei_Badgirl> All of them

<ACCLAIMmagazine> Favourite social media network and why?

<Bei_Badgirl> Probs Instagram because it’s the good parts of all of them put into one! Except I currently have beef with the fact my feed doesn’t show everyone that I follow. Is it selectively showing posts now like Facebook? Très annoying.

<ACCLAIMmagazine> To hashtag or not to hashtag?

<Bei_Badgirl> Hashtag for fun; don’t hashtag out of desperation.

<ACCLAIMmagazine> What do you think a selfie says about a person?

<Bei_Badgirl> You know what? It’s not just about the solitary selfie – it’s about the oeuvre of selfies: the context of the selfies; the conceptual and material practices of the selfies; paying attention to captions; accompanying hashtags. We straight be breaking down the semiotics of these selfies visual analysis of art history style, and you know we’re getting a high distinction on this motherfuckin’ thesis. That shit will tell you most of what you need to know about a person.

<ACCLAIMmagazine> Who is your biggest online influencer?

<Bei_Badgirl> It’s hard to call. I think it’s a tie between like 25 people and three cats.

<ACCLAIMmagazine> What was the last thing you looked up on Wikipedia?

<Bei_Badgirl> Albino dolphins.

<ACCLAIMmagazine> Where is your favourite place to shop online?

<Bei_Badgirl> Buying weaves from Aliexpress – nothing like that new weave feeling.

<ACCLAIMmagazine> How does your online identity compare to your IRL identity?

<Bei_Badgirl> They’re pretty similar, except I don’t talk in caps lock or dollar signs IRL.

<ACCLAIMmagazine> How has the internet helped to develop your creative endeavours?

<Bei_Badgirl> Where do I begin? The internet has more or less given me everything that I have. The most important aspect is that it makes me accessible to both an audience (S/O TO MY MERBITCHES) and also galleries and companies interested in working with me. Aside from the social aspect, the internet is also my main tool for finding inspiration which develops the themes and theory behind my artworks.

<ACCLAIMmagazine> How do you keep up with the constant evolution of online tastes and trends?

<Bei_Badgirl> b o u t t h a t l y f

<ACCLAIMmagazine> Best GIF going around ATM?

<Bei_Badgirl>