Absolute Rubbish: Gary Adrian Randall of Haus of Other Uses Their Platform

On Friday, May 30, OFM attended Absolute Rubbish: Growing Season, a Trashion Show hosted by Meow Wolf, where local designers turned simple pieces of what would be considered trash into beautiful, thought-provoking, and intricately detailed pieces of fashion. 

Among the designers participating in the show was designer Gary Adrian Randall whose look titled “Petals from the Past” was modeled by MotherDaddy. Gary is the founder of Haus of Other: a collective that, at its core, celebrates individuality, beauty, and self-expression. This collective creates opportunities that unites the community through events such as craft nights and, to all of those who were present in the room at Meow Wolf on Friday, through thought-provoking artistic messaging as well. 

Gary Adrian’s name appeared on the walls in The Perplexiplex. Musical notes by Mists Inhabit This Place by Brambles started to fill the room. MotherDaddy stepped onto the stage embodying a cherry blossom adorned with crystals, holding a pink & iridescent petaled parasol. 

Inspired by the theme Growing Season, Gary shared that the idea for the piece first came as a cherry blossom to honor their Chinese heritage. As they were creating it, they decided to add roots as a nod to both their ancestors that have allowed them to grow strong as an individual and to those who have come before us, who we have lost, and who have paved the way for us to grow strong as a community. 

Gary has been designing costumes their whole life. It all started with his mom who taught him how to sew when he was in third grade. “We were always really poor, so she taught us to create with whatever we had around, which involved me ripping the curtains off the walls and taking all of her old dresses from the ‘70s and repurposing them, even making sculptures out of dough and salt.” Gary and his mom used to watch Project Runway together. “The non-conventional challenges were always our favorite. She always said, ‘You can do that’ and I’m like, I will do that one day.” Gary’s mother passed away eight years ago. “Everything I do is kind of inspired by her in some way, shape, or form.” 

Gary started his first artistic company in Tampa when he was 23, putting on large scale art shows that quickly became a success. To keep the momentum going, he then moved to New York expecting it to fuel his artistic creativity but found the exact opposite. “New York was interesting because I kind of felt creatively stifled. There were high barriers to entry and it felt like everything had already been done so I went inward and didn’t share my creative side.”

In 2016, Gary was still living in New York when the Pulse Nightclub massacre happened. One of his friends was among the 49 victims. “I cried for seven days straight.” It was after this moment that he started to really get into politics and proudly shared that their art always has a meaning. “It’s our job to say something, to have a message. The beautiful thing about art is that you can change people’s minds. You can talk someone’s ear off, but if they have an opinion they’re not going to change it based on something you say. But you can create a piece of art that shares your opinion and not have to say anything. And by looking at it, they’ll come to that opinion on their own, and that actually will change their mind. Nina Simone said, ‘We have a duty to reflect the times with our art,’ and that’s what I was trying to do.”

The massacre was not the only terrible thing that happened in 2016. Trump got elected. And while that may have been the worst of it for the nation, Gary’s mother was also diagnosed with cancer. He moved into the hospital to spend as much time with her as possible. Like all true artists, Gary still needed to create despite everything going on in his life. “I started a gaming company when I was in New York and created an artistic mobile game. I was working on the game while in the hospital with her. I drew this cancer monster; she’s laying in the bed in the background, and it’s like, it was obviously the most difficult time in my life, and it inspires a lot of the art that I create to this day.”

Gary headed west after his mother’s passing with no plan of what was to come next. He ended up stopping in Denver, looked up at the mountains, and immediately felt at home. “My favorite thing about Denver is the self-expression. I immediately saw the art and the murals everywhere and the fact that there was this authenticity in the people … I’ve been getting involved in the artistic community here. I love the people, and I’m just so grateful that I found a place that really feels like home.”

Gary intentionally asked MotherDaddy to model his piece. MotherDaddy and Gary have worked together on several things. “They performed at Haus of Other’s event at Champagne Tiger called Blossom & Bloom in April where they did their first testosterone shot on stage in their transition. Everything they do is art, it has a meaning, and I find it so powerful.” 

In Gary’s costume, the pink from the cherry blossoms came to represent the trans community. The parasol was lined with removable petals that displayed a light blue QR code sticker with the Haus of Other logo in the center. What many think would go to their website, the QR code instead takes you to a list of the trans people that are missing or lost.

*Trigger warning: This site contains reports of violence against transgender people and links to detailed reports which contain graphic imagery. The link to the website is here.

“The trans community is a very important part of our community. They were the first community that’s been attacked under this administration. What I’m seeing politically is that a lot of cis gays are throwing them to the wolves. My best friend Nadia Evangelina is trans, and we’ve been friends for 23 years. She’s my sister, and we really leaned on each other. The issues that the trans community are dealing with are all of our issues. Like they (the administration) came for them first. They’re coming for us next, and they’re coming for everyone else at some point. I think it’s important to be as visible as possible with that.” 

Everything from the start to the end of the performance was an intentional message inspired by the cycles of life. MotherDaddy started off embodying a young and happy being, twirling the parasol around, curiosity in their movement. As they walked onto the runway, their curiosity turned into budding confidence. Just before they stepped onto the platform at the end of the runway, MotherDaddy handed the parasol to an audience member, gesturing for them to hold it.

As they walked up the stairs to the platform, the middle aged vibrancy was not just felt, it was seen as MotherDaddy’s skirt lit up with lights. They then had a full moment of becoming when their roots descended to the ground, creating a train of lights.

As they walked back down the runway, they plucked the petals containing the QR code from the parasol and handed them out to the audience.

When they made their exit off of the stage, it was clear they were completing their cycle of life. They turned the parasol into a cane and embodied an elderly being, moving slowly into the darkness of the stage, with only their roots illuminating the way. 

Gary’s piece brought a sense of lightness and beauty to the eye, both in how the costume was designed through earthy and airy elements and by the actual use of lights, the music beckoned viewers to take pause and open themselves up to really seeing the piece, and the QR code petals left the audience with a dark heaviness of the reality that exists in this world.  “I think if we’re living a life well lived, we will have that balance of light and darkness.”

The beautiful thing about art is it can and will be interpreted differently by all who experience it. I found the performance to be symbolic in many ways. The first being symbolic to Gary’s journey that he has shared with us here. Like the QR coded petals on the parasol, those who have gone before us are always with us. From the moment we enter into this world, as we find our way to our fullest expression of finding and shining our light, to the moment when we realize we are being called back—They will always be there with us. Secondly, as I reflect on this performance, I can clearly see the uniting of communities that Gary’s art intends to do. But what I didn’t expect, and am most moved by, is the uniting of the communities that he accomplished between the living and the dead. 

“This piece was really a discussion about death and loss and the people that have come before us. There were these crystal ornaments hanging from the branches that represented my friends who have lost a loved one. The number of crystals on the ornaments were the number of years that they’ve been gone. My mom’s was the necklace that MotherDaddy was wearing. It had eight crystals on it because she’s been gone for eight years this year.” 

Last month, Haus of Other hosted a salon dinner about death at Champagne Tiger.

“With my mom passing, death is something that I’m kind of intimately acquainted with. One thing I always want to do is provide a safe space for people who are grieving or have lost someone. I can tell when people are hurting, and I love having those discussions. It is one of the ways that I honor my mom.” 

“I’m just happy to be here on this stage and to be able to show my art and share it. Right now politically, we’re living in a time when our rights are challenged yet again. I think it’s clear a lot of people felt safe when we were all of a sudden allowed to get married and the truth of the matter is: The battle is not over at all. In a lot of ways, it’s just the beginning.” 

You can find out more information about Haus Of Other and their community events by visiting their website. Their next event, Aquatica, is July 26 at Champagne Tiger. 

Photos and article by Becky Duffyhill. Check out more of her work here!