Hotmess Club
HOTMESS is a multidisciplinary collaboration between Sophie May and Gabrielle Miller. They create surrealistic narratives and performative art offering audiences healthy escapism. Our practice takes many forms, adjusting to different realms from life-drawing performances to online courses, festival and private events and creative direction. HOTMESS was born during the Northern NSW floods as an escape from the hardship, grief and exhaustion we were all experiencing.
Our signature show, In The Flesh, is a decadent life drawing experience designed to ignite your creative fire and release you from normality. Be prepared to be immersed in a fictional world of costume, sound, lighting and performance used to playfully nudge one to question the fabric of life through emotional experiences. We thrive on the edge exploring ideas that are cheeky, evocative and conceptual, creating a banquet of food for thought, a bit of heat in your seat and a smile on your dial.
With meticulous art direction, we curate each show to create a dynamic space where participants can liberate their creativity. Our goal is to transcend boundaries, fostering an environment where the audience actively engages, experiments, and discovers the diverse worlds we craft through performance. Welcome to a new dimension of artistic expression with HOTMESS.
Performances
Friday
6:00 – 6:30
Mosh Pit
HOTMESS joins forces with Spizita! for an absurd dance ritual/protest/party. The world is a mess so we will purge our stress! Come move in sync and open a collective cosmic portal. No intergalactic experience necessary. Bring your worries and drop them on the dance floor. I am no cult leader, but I could be, so let’s mosh like it’s ’99 and this is the moment of our hot little lives.
7:30 – 8:00
Hâlé x Hotmess
HOTMESS accompanies Hâlé for an otherworldly experience. A dark celestial vision with a nostalgic yet modern twist. Draw, listen and allow yourself to be whisked into the unknown.
9:00 – 9:30
Fish Wedding
Get unofFISHially married… by a fish.
Claim your takeaway food ticket number and be ready to get hitched. When your number is called, step up to the altar and be (unofficially) married by the OFISHiator in a Vegas-style fish & chip shop wedding.
Don’t worry, an oFISHial translator will be on hand to make sure you understand the vows.
Love at first bite.
Saturday
2:30 – 3:00
Selkie Song
Premiere screening of super-8 short film Selkie Song followed by a life drawing session inspired by the Selkie myth. A vignette by Filippa Edghill and Ali Weber. Immerse yourself in the Southern ocean where the seals sing.
4:00 – 4:30
Heart Throb
Get ready to sweat, shimmy and unleash your inner diva! Northern Rivers heartthrob Philip Channells brings Heartthrob to the HOT MESS HUB, an all-ages, inclusive dance experience bursting with infectious beats, outrageous choreography and pure joy. Part Jane Fonda, part Richard Simmons, with a generous splash of fantastiche, Heartthrob celebrates movement, self-expression and community.
5:45 – 6:15
Holy Cowboy x Hotmess
HOTMESS steps into a Lynchian fever dream with Holy Cowboy, a glittering, dangerous presence somewhere between outlaw, rock star and stranger in the night.
As he serenades a mysterious woman on stage, something charged unfolds between them. Is it desire? A showdown? A dream? We’re not quite sure.
Draw, listen and watch as the bizarreness unravels.
7:45 – 8:30
Hotmess – In the Flesh
In The Flesh is a decadent life drawing experience designed to ignite your creative fire and release you from normality. Be prepared to be immersed in a fictional world used to playfully nudge one to question the fabric of life through emotional experiences. We thrive on the edge exploring ideas that are cheeky, evocative and conceptual, creating a banquet of food for thought, a bit of heat in your seat and a smile on your dial.