26 Scene
PRIMADONNA GIRL OF THE UNDERWORLD By Catherine Muxworthy
) Amber Cadaverous is an international
visual artist, based in Birmingham, who specialises in drag performance as well as photography and film. She has travelled the world with her drag, performing in Rhode Island, Chicago, Milwaukee, as well as up and down the UK.
“In drag, I’m really drawn to female characters in horror movies. There’s a power and an ‘otherness’ encapsulated in the hyperfemininity of the characters of the horror genre that really resonates with me. With my drag, I want to focus on that otherness and femme power I embody, and harness it.”
Amber explains that her drag persona is an extension of herself, describing her as “a goth brat diva, a primadonna girl of the underworld. She embodies the juxtaposition between overt, camp, feminine aesthetics – cute bows, pink lingerie, everything that screams ‘girl’ – and rot, bugs, horror and punk. I want to be adored and disgust you at the same time!
Amber also describes herself as a drag witch, a term that came from “the OG drag witch”, her drag mother, China. “Drag for me is almost spiritual,” Amber explains. “It can be like therapy, the art itself is very healing. Doing drag is much like witchcraft, there is an inherent otherness that comes with being queer that makes witches so relatable. Drag is
“Drag is much like witchcraft, there’s an inherent otherness that comes with being queer that makes witches so relatable”
