0:06

Hello, I'm Roy

0:06

Sharples, and welcome to the

0:08

unknown origins podcast. Why are

0:08

you listening to this podcast?

0:13

Are you an industry expert

0:13

looking for insights? are you

0:17

growing your career? Or are you

0:17

a dear friend, hoping to spoil

0:21

your old pal on? I created the

0:21

unknown origins podcast, to have

0:26

the most inspiring conversations

0:26

with creative industry

0:29

personalities and experts about

0:29

entrepreneurship, pop culture,

0:34

art, music, film and fashion.

0:34

Carrie Valentine is a

0:39

performance artist who grew up

0:39

within a Roma Gypsy community in

0:43

the northeast of England, which

0:43

fueled Shelley's creative

0:47

instincts, curiosity for

0:47

adventure, and freedom for

0:51

expression. Sherry has blended a

0:51

lifelong passion for

0:55

understanding what makes the

0:55

human mind tick. By combining

0:59

Mental Health Nursing, with fine

0:59

art and fashion, Sherry emerged

1:05

from ripples, drag race, UK

1:05

success as an influential voice

1:10

in the lesbian, gay, bisexual,

1:10

and transgender community by

1:15

combining life experience,

1:15

curiosity, comedy, and satire

1:20

into performance art. And as a

1:20

practitioner, and the National

1:24

Health Service. What inspired

1:24

and influenced you to become a

1:30

performance artist in the first

1:30

place,

1:32

I actually

1:32

just got the drag couple of

1:34

years ago, when I moved to it

1:34

was Lancaster University in the

1:40

UK. And I met my partner. And

1:40

we're still skating now eight

1:46

years later. But it's it's one

1:46

of the things because I was

1:50

always like, I want to do

1:50

something I was, I felt like I

1:53

was missing something. And I was

1:53

always super creative as I went

1:55

through school, and college and

1:55

university. And then I had

2:00

always been interested in

2:00

fashion as a textiles, fine art,

2:02

all this stuff. So I never

2:02

really been like a performance

2:06

artist was never really

2:06

something that I've considered

2:09

myself to be, but then a

2:09

partner, and we went for a

2:12

couple of nights out around

2:12

Canal Street in Manchester. And

2:16

if you don't know, if our

2:16

streets, it's very vibrant,

2:18

very. It's very colorful. And

2:18

we're for a couple of nights

2:23

out. And I discovered that there

2:23

was drag queens on stage. And I

2:28

thought being a drag queen.

2:28

Growing off, everything I heard

2:31

about drag was really through

2:31

TV, and the internet. And it was

2:36

always depicted as something

2:36

that was like a DJ, or someone

2:42

who just makes wigs or something

2:42

like that, like I didn't think

2:46

that there would be a lot of

2:46

people on stage doing it. So

2:49

when I went to Manchester, I saw

2:49

all these amazing people

2:53

performing on stage and drag,

2:53

and some of the performances are

2:56

incredible. And it really opened

2:56

my eyes to it and, and then

3:00

started experiment to him. I

3:00

eventually went out in drag. And

3:04

one of the managers of one of

3:04

the bars approached me and asked

3:07

me if I wanted to start working

3:07

there. And it wasn't for a

3:10

couple of months in that I

3:10

actually was offered like the

3:14

opportunity to go on stage. And

3:14

then after I was on stage

3:17

started doing my own thing, and

3:17

really, really get into

3:19

performing and like creating a

3:19

performance. I ended up working

3:25

like 567 nights a week, some

3:25

weeks. Like a year later, it

3:30

really it really took off very

3:30

quickly.

3:32

Manchester has

3:32

been a bedrock for creativity,

3:35

which spawned from being the

3:35

birthplace of the industrial

3:39

revolutions maker and do our

3:39

ethos lets you helped

3:43

universally establish itself as

3:43

a distinct creative city, not

3:48

just in music from obviously the

3:48

from punk through to Indy, then

3:52

I said house, and the whole mud

3:52

Manchester scene back in the

3:57

late 1980s. But in multiple

3:57

artistic disciplines and

4:01

domains, as well as being a

4:01

tough, and no nonsense place is

4:06

very much a place where you feel

4:06

autonomous and free to express

4:11

yourself. Was that whole

4:11

discovery liberating?

4:15

Yeah, I mean,

4:15

it was to be honest, because I'd

4:18

always been doing drag for a

4:18

long, long time. I remember when

4:21

I was very young, and my mom and

4:21

dad would go out the house. And

4:24

I would always like look through my mom's wardrobe because she used to wear some fabulous

4:26

things. And I would like put

4:28

heels on around the house. And

4:28

that was quite liberating in

4:33

itself, but I just felt like

4:33

happy. It's very obvious how

4:37

like clothing and certain things

4:37

can make you feel differently

4:40

what it did. So obviously, as I

4:40

got older, I started

4:44

experimenting more especially

4:44

with art because I've always

4:48

been interested in art in the

4:48

sense that it can mean so much

4:51

more than what you see on the

4:51

surface of it. So I think that

4:54

goes for people as well. So I

4:54

just find people in art faster

4:58

men and And I obviously started

4:58

doing drag in Manchester. And

5:04

then when I was on stage, it was

5:04

very liberating because I was

5:07

doing performances, sometimes I

5:07

would do very typical

5:10

performance. So I'll be dancing

5:10

around and having a good time

5:14

and stuff on stage, but then I

5:14

would do others that were quite

5:17

political. Yeah. And I think

5:17

it's really interesting, because

5:21

drag itself is rooted in quite a

5:21

political like, it's got quite a

5:24

political past itself. And a lot

5:24

of think a lot of people fully

5:28

appreciate that sometimes. But I

5:28

think it just gets, it gets

5:33

taken away with it, whichever

5:33

way it goes. But it's I think

5:35

it's very important, whatever

5:35

you're doing to understand where

5:38

it came from. But yeah, it's

5:38

been incredibly liberating to be

5:43

a drug artist. Yeah, definitely.

5:44

How did growing up

5:44

on a Roma Gypsy community and

5:48

Darlington shaped your Outlook,

5:50

it shaped it

5:50

in the sense that I still hold

5:54

some of the values that I had

5:54

when I was younger, to err. I

5:57

mean, I'm still very quite a

5:57

private person, very rarely talk

6:01

about, well, I never used to

6:01

talk about my feelings and

6:06

things like that abortions,

6:06

because growing up in a gypsy

6:10

community was always put on me,

6:10

as a present in mail when I was

6:13

younger. I was always told not

6:13

to be not to be very emotive,

6:20

and just be very closed in that

6:20

sense, and just get on with it.

6:25

So it was it was quite difficult

6:25

when I started doing drag to

6:31

really open up when I was

6:31

performing. But I think through

6:35

if that was when I was going

6:35

through college, I was doing

6:37

fine art and textiles on the

6:37

side of psychology. But my

6:42

parents didn't really know that

6:42

I was doing fine art and

6:44

textiles on the side, they just

6:44

thought I was doing psychology

6:47

and medicine to become a doctor.

6:47

But yeah, it's just it's one of

6:54

those things. But that's where I

6:54

really discovered art and what

6:59

it can do and what it can mean.

6:59

And I did actually incorporate

7:02

some of my background like

7:02

coming from a job security into

7:05

the art the house creating. And

7:05

in that itself, like going back

7:10

to the last question, it was

7:10

quite liberating in itself as

7:12

well. It allows me to like

7:12

discover myself a little bit

7:14

more. Because I think it's easy,

7:14

someone telling you things. But

7:20

when you actually go out and try

7:20

and find the answers yourself,

7:23

it's it's very eye opening,

7:24

what does being a

7:24

performance artist mean to you?

7:27

It means

7:27

absolutely everything. And I

7:29

know that sounds very cliche,

7:29

but I wouldn't be over

7:32

exaggerating when I say that,

7:32

like art has really has really

7:36

saved my life more than more

7:36

than a few times. And I just

7:39

think that ability to be able to

7:39

put what you feel and and what

7:43

you're thinking out into the

7:43

world is so powerful. And we we

7:49

all have like the power to, to

7:49

do that. And we really do. I

7:53

think when people say they're

7:53

not artistic, or they're not

7:56

creative, it's not the case,

7:56

they just don't know how to be

7:59

or they don't know how to

7:59

channel that energy that they do

8:02

have into something. I think

8:02

that just comes with time and

8:07

just understanding what you like

8:07

and things but yeah, it means

8:12

everything. It's honestly

8:12

changed my life ever since I've

8:14

become I just every year I just

8:14

get more and more creative and

8:17

artistic. And I find that you

8:17

always adapt as an artist to

8:21

whatever scenario you put into.

8:21

Sort of especially over the past

8:24

year and a half like obviously

8:24

being locked out. I think it's

8:27

it's given a lot of people time

8:27

to, to reflect on themselves and

8:32

learn a lot more about

8:32

themselves, which in turn is

8:34

obviously like, pushed the rock

8:34

forward as well.

8:39

creative people

8:39

are ordinary people who do

8:42

extraordinary things. The

8:42

ability to be creative, exists

8:47

within everyone. It manifests

8:47

itself in every domain, and

8:51

profession. And at any age, you

8:51

never lose the ability to be

8:56

creative. I believe creativity

8:56

increases with time, because we

9:01

all gain more knowledge and

9:01

insight as we experience more

9:05

within our lives. life events

9:05

provide us with more reference

9:10

points and the knowledge gained

9:10

through experiencing them,

9:14

combined, obviously with our own

9:14

imagination and maintaining our

9:18

childlike wonder throughout

9:18

life. And like you say, it's

9:22

about knowing how to unlock your

9:22

creative potential, and how to

9:26

channel your passion and energy

9:26

into creativity. point you made

9:32

about coming out of a pandemic

9:32

as an opportunity to further

9:36

create and express and while the

9:36

pandemic has affected people's

9:42

lives and choices across every

9:42

generation, it's compelled

9:47

society to reduce division.

9:47

Prioritize on what matters the

9:52

most and come together to

9:52

navigate the way forward at the

9:56

universal level out of

9:56

adversity. Comes opportunity,

10:02

new creative solutions that

10:02

drive positive disruption and

10:06

change. Where do you get your

10:06

inspiration from?

10:09

I honestly get

10:09

my inspiration from absolutely

10:11

everywhere. Everywhere around

10:11

me, I think everything is

10:17

everything has got so much

10:17

potential to be something. Like

10:22

if I'm walking outside in the

10:22

woods or something, taking my

10:26

dog for a walk, just, I might

10:26

even be thinking creatively, but

10:30

then I just have all these ideas

10:30

See, see the sun shining through

10:33

and it brings a song to mind or

10:33

you see the colors in it makes

10:37

me want to experiment with

10:37

makeup in a certain way, I

10:40

literally get inspiration from everything,

10:43

manifesting what

10:43

is inside and arrange you in

10:46

your everyday life, and

10:46

transcending the obvious,

10:49

ordinary, and routine into

10:49

something that may have value by

10:54

putting things together to do to

10:54

create something new. What is

10:58

your creative process? In terms

10:58

of how do you come up with

11:02

ideas, develop those ideas into

11:02

concepts, and then bring those

11:08

concepts to actualization? Yeah,

11:10

find

11:10

inspiration from everything. So

11:13

it also really depends on how

11:13

I'm feeling and what I'm going

11:16

through in my life at the

11:16

minute. And what I'm seeing is

11:18

happening in the world. And I

11:18

don't always plan. I think when

11:25

I plan it, it's like a creative

11:25

myself. I don't know, like, I

11:29

know, a lot of people don't think like this in my life planning, but I like to just go

11:31

in and see what comes out. So I

11:36

have like, have all these ideas.

11:36

And then I don't tend to draw

11:40

things out or write things down,

11:40

what I'm gonna do, I just sit

11:42

down with things like materials,

11:42

or paper and pen, I'll just sit

11:51

down and I'll just see what

11:51

comes out. And that's really my

11:55

process, I don't really tend to

11:55

vote. So there are like bigger

12:00

projects that I do on for, but

12:00

but at the heart of it. It's

12:04

just how I was feeling in the

12:04

moment. Such a bring it to life.

12:08

It's just what I'm feeling at

12:08

that time. And what I've got

12:12

around me that I can sort of

12:12

manipulate to create that.

12:16

Yeah, like using

12:16

your imagination and creative

12:19

instinct, by connecting

12:19

emotionally with something that

12:24

has inspired you to create

12:24

within within your life, and to

12:28

make it relatable and

12:28

understandable by providing

12:31

purpose and meaning and

12:31

channeling that through your

12:35

art. from your experience to

12:35

date. What do you believe the

12:40

key skill to be a performance

12:40

artist is

12:44

I just think

12:44

you need to be very open. I

12:46

don't think you need any

12:46

specific skill in any specific

12:50

area, I think he needs to be

12:50

opened and determined and be

12:55

willing to really push yourself

12:55

and really explore who you are

12:58

as a person and how you learn

12:58

how to understand fully how you

13:03

can make other people feel by

13:03

what you present in the world. I

13:07

mean, day to day, like, everyday

13:07

can be seen as a performance, we

13:12

get up in the morning and pick

13:12

what clothes to wear, we go out

13:14

to the shop, we interact with

13:14

people and say hello. Part of

13:19

that is performing. You know, I

13:19

mean, like it's real life, we're

13:23

just we're playing this, this

13:23

character. And this character,

13:27

it's all it's all personally.

13:27

But everything around us. It's

13:33

got meaning to it, like I look

13:33

at, it's just, it's incredible.

13:37

Like, I'll look at a water

13:37

bottle, and I start to see a

13:41

water but I'll see the plastic

13:41

someone's made time to make that

13:45

plastic someone's made time to

13:45

design the levels and the water

13:50

has been technically my pee, but

13:50

like everything is just part of

13:53

the big, like, plan play almost

13:53

like the world we live in is

13:58

sort of do you know I'm saying?

14:01

Yes, that life is

14:01

one continuous performance loop.

14:07

You're in a time machine. It's

14:07

going backward.

14:11

Okay. Yeah.

14:17

Based on what

14:17

you've learned to date, what are

14:20

the pitfalls to avoid, and the

14:20

keys to success that you can

14:24

share with aspiring performance

14:24

artists,

14:27

I wouldn't

14:27

necessarily avoid anything,

14:30

because I think everything is

14:30

part of the journey and it

14:33

really does teach you a lot of

14:33

invaluable lessons. Just the key

14:38

is to have an open mind and just

14:38

really take the time to

14:44

understand what you what you're

14:44

trying to do or what you're

14:46

trying to say. Because it's one

14:46

thing like in my line of work in

14:50

drag, especially it's one thing

14:50

looking a certain way you can

14:54

put on some fake hair and strap

14:54

on whatever you need to to make

14:58

it look a certain way but it's

14:58

It's not just about that. It's

15:01

about how it makes you feel and

15:01

how it will make other people

15:04

feel around you as well. And I

15:04

think it's just, it's just

15:07

really good to be aware of your

15:07

the impacts that you can have.

15:11

What's your vision

15:11

for the future of Performing

15:15

Arts

15:16

spread the

15:16

message that anyone can be

15:19

creative, anyone can, can have

15:19

that mindset. I mean, I just I

15:25

love to see art everywhere. I

15:25

love, love creative people. And

15:30

I love speaking with other

15:30

creative people about their

15:33

ideas, and what they what their

15:33

force, this is actually quite

15:41

envious of you that you get to

15:41

like, just talk to everyone

15:43

about this. But it's just it's

15:43

really interesting to see

15:47

different people's perspectives.

15:47

And I really am looking forward

15:50

to see seeing where the worlds

15:50

of performance are and

15:54

performing really goals. Because

15:54

I think especially after we've

15:57

gotten up locked down, and

15:57

things start opening up again,

16:00

it'll be really interesting to

16:00

see the impact that that that

16:05

will have and the route that it

16:05

will go down. Because I know

16:08

that more people want to go and

16:08

see more shores more people want

16:13

to go and experience things that

16:13

I've never experienced before.

16:17

So I think it's been, it's been

16:17

quite beneficial in that sense.

16:20

I find some time to live, when

16:20

we express our views on

16:26

creativity, especially, and our

16:26

men and how it makes us feel and

16:30

think a lot of people don't take

16:30

it seriously. And it's not all

16:35

to be taken seriously. But it's

16:35

just it's really important to

16:39

understand that some people do

16:39

see it in certain ways. It's

16:43

just it's just nice to talk

16:43

openly and creative. Like I

16:46

always feel like, I never want

16:46

to go backwards. Everything I do

16:50

I like to do better than I've

16:50

just done, do you I mean, I

16:54

don't think you should be in competition with anyone but yourself. So I just like to I've

16:56

got loads of things that I'm

17:01

working on. I mean, I've got

17:01

some music coming out soon. I'm

17:05

working on a lot of visual

17:05

things for that. Which I've been

17:09

writing that over the past year

17:09

and a half. Just like loads of

17:14

tracks and stuff. And then I'm

17:14

working on documentaries, just

17:18

to like to really talk more

17:18

about mental health and

17:21

creativity as well. Because I am

17:21

incredibly passionate about it,

17:24

to be honest. And I didn't

17:24

really get fully in touch with

17:27

that until after I went on track

17:27

race. Yeah. Which was like a

17:32

big, big light. For me, it

17:32

really did shed a light on how

17:35

passionate I really feel about

17:35

the arts. So I've always got

17:40

lots of things coming up. Yeah,

17:40

I'm constantly working on all

17:42

this stuff. And I really feel

17:42

it's, it's quite limited

17:45

sometimes to just stick in a

17:45

specific land. So I've always

17:48

said to myself, wherever I get

17:48

and whatever I do, I just want

17:51

to try everything and see and

17:51

see what I like and see what I

17:54

enjoy and get the

17:55

most out of

17:55

everything you need is already

17:57

inside of you. The key is to

17:57

know how to unlock and channel

18:02

your energy into doing what you

18:02

are passionate about. In your

18:06

pursuit of excellence and self

18:06

actualization by committing to

18:10

being your best every single day

18:10

by performing to the maximum of

18:15

your ability and seeing

18:15

challenges as opportunities to

18:19

continuously learn and grow. You

18:19

have been listening to the

18:24

unknown origins podcast. Please

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follow subscribe, rate and

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review us. For more information

18:29

go to unknown origins.com Thank

18:36

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