Pepper Pepper AKA Kaj-anne Pepper
Pepper Pepper aka Kaj-anne Pepper (Portland OR) is a multidisciplinary artist who works in performance, photography, video, drag, installation, theatre, and dance. His artistic exploration revolves around themes of vulnerability, artifice, technology, and identity, where tragic experiences are transformed into magical spectacles and trauma becomes the raw material for compelling dramas.
Pepper has showcased his work at numerous festivals and venues such as Portland's Risk/Reward, The Portland Institute for Contemporary Art's T:BA and Time Released festivals, Performance Works Northwest, and internationally at OFF! Biennale Budapest. Their artistic versatility extends across mediums, including 2D, 3D, and installation pieces exhibited at Linfield College and The Budapest Art Fair, and Oregon Contemporary.
Pepper has been fortunate to participate in residencies at Macdowell, Monson Arts Center, Playa Summer Lake, Caldera Arts, Space Gallery Maine, Signal Fire, New Expressive Works Residency, CON/VERGE at PonderosaTanz Germany, and PICA's Creative Exchange Lab. These spaces have served as fertile grounds for the evolution and deepening of Pepper's artistic vision.
Their magnetic presence in the drag scene has spanned continents, gracing stages at The Portland Drag Theatre Festival, Queer Horror, The Austin International Drag Festival, OUTstages Victoria Canada, and numerous fundraisers and charities across the Pacific Northwest and West Coast. Pepper's legacy includes over 20 years of nightlife and cabaret production alongside a professional performing and visual studio practice. Pepper is a longtime collaborator with Anthony Hudson/Carla Rossi and tours their hit “psychedelic assisted-satire” GLOOP internationally.
The ongoing project, Pink Moment, explores the spirit and idea of PINK as queer energy and the manifestation of magic in this world. With many permutations, Pink Moment hybridizes performance, photography, video, and installation into an ever-growing body of work that celebrates PINK - often accompanied by a beautiful pink dress gifted to Pepper by artist C. Davida Ingram.
Recognized as an Oregon Visual Arts Commission Fellow in 2020, Pepper Pepper's artistic trajectory embodies innovation, resilience, and an unwavering commitment to pushing artistic boundaries. Through their diverse explorations, Pepper invites audiences into a world where vulnerability is celebrated, artifice becomes a canvas, and expression is cherished.
For Bookings Contact: THEPEPPERPEPPER@GMAIL.COM