WORDS OF WISDOM IN MONACO
HelloMonaco: George, if I were to describe your music, I would probably
use the words rhythm and blues and reggae. But how would you
describe your visual art?
Boy George: The art is very much like music in the sense that when it
ends up on the paper, it’s very dramatic. These are not subtle people,
these are not understated people, these are colourful, provocative
people. These are rockstars, actually. So yeah, it’s very similar.
HM: And where do you find the inspiration, where does it come
from?
BG: It comes from observing, it comes from people that I’ve met
in my life. Obviously, people like David Bowie have influenced
me, people that I admire musically. But when I started to draw
Prince, it really was an accident, I wasn’t sitting down to draw
Prince, but as I started to work on the
picture, it was like «Oh! It looks like
Prince!» So I continued and I turned it
into Prince. But it’s never a deliberate
thing. I’m always trying to evoke the
spirit of something, I’m not necessarily
interested in doing things that
are exact replicas of things that exist.
When I do a flower, I always give
it a twist. I do people, as you can see,
with no faces, I exaggerate them.
Everything’s exaggerated because I suppose the point I’m trying
to make is that the most interesting people are often imperfect
and flawed.
HM: I think that every piece of art has a story behind it. Would you
tell us your favourite one?
BG: I feel like we live in the age of everything being over-explained.
It’s like when you arrive at a premiere, some people say, «What are
you wearing?» and I’m like, «Can’t you see?» (laughs). I mean, I think
that it’s self-explanatory.
HM: If you had to prioritize, what would take first place for you right
now: music or art?
BG: I feel like the two things, music, art, fashion, they all kind of go
together. They’re very supportive of each other, so I never feel like
I have to choose. I feel like I have the luxury to do all these different
things. I DJ, I do fashion, I make art, I make music and I feel very, very
privileged to have the chance to do that. I think creative people are
always looking for applause, that’s really what we’re looking for.
Whenever we do anything we want a reaction. Even in relationships,
we want applause. So, nothing I do is ever understated, it’s all bold
and provocative and humorous. I think, for me, humour is a hugely
important thing. Things that make you laugh, things that make you
think, things that kind of disturb you a little bit, I think that’s where
I’m coming from.
HM: When you’re creating a song, music, or a piece of art, do you
need harmony? Do you need to be in harmony with yourself and
with the outside world, with reality? Or do you need chaos, for
example?
BG: Nowadays, I don’t embrace chaos in the same way that I did
when I was 19 (laughs). When I was 19, I think it was just part of my
general demeanour. But as I got older, I feel less and less drawn towards
the need for pointless chaos. I suppose, what I do is I put it into
my work. If I have any questions or confusion, I put it into a song or
I put it into a piece of art.
HM: If you had the ultimate power to change something in this
world, what would you do?
BG: Well, one of the things that really bothers me
is homelessness. The idea that somebody is living
in the street and it’s raining and it’s cold, for me,
is the worst thing ever, not to have somewhere
to go. So, if I had the power to change anything,
I would eradicate homelessness, no question,
that would be the thing that would make me the
most happy. If I could make sure that every single
person had somewhere to go and not have
to sleep in the streets or be hungry…
If I had the power to change
anything, I would eradicate
homelessness, no question, that
would be the thing that would
make me the most happy.
HM: Do you have a role model and should we
have one?
BG: I think that there should always be people
that inspire
you, for
different reasons.
I think
it’s really
important
that when
you’re in a
r o o m f u l l
of people,
you never
know who the most interesting person
is. And you can assume that it’s the bestdressed
person or the most interesting-looking person, but sometimes
the most interesting person is the most unassuming person
in the room. Sometimes the little lady in the corner is the brain surgeon
or the rocket scientist. And I think we do tend to judge people
by the way they look or by status and I think sometimes you need
to look beyond that. I’m always really careful when I meet people,
to breathe and to make sure I know exactly who they are before
I make a judgement. Because I think, for me, being in the public eye,
you grow up with a lot of judgements. It’s quite normal to assume
things about people in the public eye. So, I try to be really careful
and measured when I meet people and just breathe a bit and work
out who people are before I judge them.
HM: We’re in Monaco, in Monaco everything is super and mega. Super
yachts, super cars, super art, billionaires…What is your relationship
with money? For example, do you have enough or is it never
enough? Does money bring you happiness?
BG: I think money brings comfort and I was talking earlier about
the idea of homelessness, I think it would be wonderful if everybody
could have it. It doesn’t make you happier, but it certainly
makes things more comfortable, there’s no question. But it’s not
everything.
HM: What is luxury to you?
BG: I mean listen, my job is the best job in the world. I get to do the
thing I love; when I wake up every day I get to indulge my creativity.
And people say to me, «You work hard». It’s not hard work. I don’t
think of what I do as hard work. It can be mentally difficult sometimes
with travelling. But when I think of people that have to do real jobs,
get up and do something that they don’t really enjoy, then I can’t
compare myself to that. So I think for me, I feel very privileged and
lucky to do the things I do.
HM: Do you have a dream?
BG: Do I have a dream..? I have a dream (singing). I have lots of
dreams. I think my main dream is really to continue doing the things
I love and to express myself in a really clear way.
36 / Hello Monaco Spring–Summer 2020
www.hellomonaco.com