Chella Man

As always, never underestimate the power of telling your story. As a little non-binary boy growing up in conservative Central Pennsylvania, I always expected my dreams to remain dreams. It gives me hope to admit this is just the beginning. I feel fueled to continuously share my visions beginning with my solo show at Hannah Traore Gallery opening January 11th in NYC and my upcoming performance with The Jewish Museum and Performance Space NY on May 2nd next year. 
Beyond this, I look forward to continuing to design and build community based spaces of safety and liberation for queer, disabled, BIPOC artists. There is absolutely no way I would be here without the collective love and support from my chosen and biological family + all those who have paved the way for equity. To be listed alongside these radiant dreamers is a deep honor! Having turned 25 just two days ago, this is the best belated birthday gift I could have asked for! Forever grateful. 
Forever free. Thank you all for the never ending love and support. C xoxo

“I no longer operate to fulfill roles that were illusions to begin with.” This is the impulse guiding @chellaman in ‘Autonomy,’ their latest work of performance and installation. On view at @thejewishmuseum through September 15, in the group show “Overflow, Afterglow: New Work in Chromatic Figuration,” the piece is a meditation on self-determination and resilience. In a performance in May at @performance.space.new.york , the artist confronted a silicone mold of their own form, using this “clone” as a site for an inquiry into the intersections of the medical industry, deaf visibility, gender dysphoria, and queer kinship. Through tattooing and piercing the mold, Chella Man sculpts a moving rejoinder to the binaries imposed on bodies. The mold on view at the Jewish Museum acts as an ever-evolving testament to the performance and the farrago of themes it surfaced. Photography by Annie Forrest

surreal to have my story and work printed in the @nytimes this weekend 🗞️♟️ especially as it was my last week living there…a full circle moment with a last hurrah! deeply grateful for this city and the people in it. thank you, @zacharyhsmall , for uplifting my work! ♥️ More gratitude to all who have supported this piece behind the scenes: Jack Meister Lopez, Robin Ediger-Seto, @Anniewiggy , Andy Sowers, Mars Doutey, Alison Kopit, Taja Cheek, Constanza Armes-Cruz, Yolene Grant, Ana Beatriz, Jenna Weiss, Pati Herling and a special thank you to @lizmunsell for watching this piece grow up! Bracelet & BTS Photographer: @MaryV BTS Videographer: @andrsrangl Sculpture Fabrication: @manuelabenaim Lead mold fabricator: @shawzin Installation hair: @johnnovotny Wig: @deetrannybear

This is Nefe. We were meant to meet. A few months ago, we created a pocket of home together. When he spoke of the safety he felt here, his hands instinctively held the right side of his chest - an area finally free. What does home feel like? An area finally free, he echoed. Designing a reminder of the safety he built, the safety we were both familiar with building — ourselves — was inevitable. For initial sketches, I asked him yet again, to hold himself. Tracing the trajectory of his fingers, I etched a roof for his home. The foundation of this home, of safety, of this tattoo is upheld by the very scars that freed him.

“Harmony is dependent upon a recognition of difference and a willingness to hold one’s own truth intact in its presence.” Kenn + Xoài, 2024.

A quick look into my art practice process. The medium for these works? @elfcosmetics products! Another reminder that art should be made by anyone, about everything, with anything you want. Trust the process, enjoy the mistakes, and keep expressing yourself. #elfcosmetics #showyourself

a guardian of nature holds a guardian of nurture carrying the wind with her whisper ᵗᵃᵏᵉ ᵒⁿˡʸ ʷʰᵃᵗ ʸᵒᵘ ⁿᵉᵉᵈ Kenn and Xoài, 2024.

Grateful to be a part of the nominations at the Tribeca Festival this year! 🦠 Sharing my art practice and perspective on self-expression in “Show Your(s)e.l.f.” — a short documentary by @elfcosmetics ! Let’s continue to uplift all disabled, BIPOC, queer artists and stories 🫂 #elfcosmetics #showyourself #tribeca

we have to let our hearts break from the things we are running from

tired of being pigeonholed. grateful for those who have leaped into their truths thankful to the ones who trust my heart

whatta life feeling extremely blessed to share we were accepted to our 10th film festival (and counting) ! Giving birth to cyborg was one of life’s many delights. See you at @framelinefest ! 💌 Team 🫂 Directed, written, co-edited and produced by Chella Man. DP: @leroy_farrell DP2: @dqcamera AC: @danbrauchli.film Co-Producer: @tonyzfilms Cast: @sammysinsss , @joyinbrooklyn , @darrick_delao , @jacindanoinsta92 Katie Man, Jon Man, Johnathan Man, Meg Man, Melissa E. Heche BTS Videographer: @thisisyasminj BTS Photographer: @general.tau Co-editor: @eric__barr PA: @kumari_seshasai

In a deeply personal performance art piece titled “Autonomy,” artist @chellaman explores identity, embodiment, and self-determination. The two-part work, which debuted on May 2nd, sees Man engage with a hyper-realistic silicone sculpture - a “clone” cast from their own form. ⁠ ⁠ At the heart of “Autonomy” lies a powerful act of reclamation. Man pierces, erodes, and transforms the mold of themselves, treating their body as a mutable canvas for self-expression. They lovingly tattoo replicas of their own body art onto the clone’s flesh, some becoming visible only as Man strips away the outer layers of silicone skin - emphasizing that tattoos are not mere surface adornments, but are evocations of something primal and internal. ⁠ ⁠ 🔗 Tap the link in our bio to read more. Photos by @annieforrest.world