Hello Monaco #09 Spring–Summer 2020 | Page 38

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