I Wanna Be (In The Studio)
Rolls Rice is my country music drag alter-ego. I describe her as “a messy, luxury automobile cheung fun cruising down an open desert road, dripping in a sweet soy sauce”. She is a play on, and critique of, the white femininity I grew up walking the tightrope between both desiring romantically, and wanting to embody, as a queer Asian youth who internalized dominant ideals of desirability. Through this persona, I interrogate popular narratives and power structures of love, music, and academia. As Rolls Rice, I have been making amateur recordings of original lyrics, overtop karaoke tracks, and playful ceramics inspired by the Wild West.
Who gets to be the hero, and the outlaw? Could I be Waylon Jennings too?
Arezu Salamzadeh (she/they) is a 26-year old Mississauga-based queer artist of mixed Cantonese and Iranian descent. They received a BFA with Honors from the School of Visual Arts, NYC, in 2016. They have since exhibited at galleries, museums, and unconventional venues in Canada, the US, Italy, and the UK. Arezu loves old disco, Motown, and country music, road trips, cooking for guests, and Hot Wheels. They are currently a Master of Visual Studies candidate at the University of Toronto. They are one of two Directors of the Chinatown Biennial.