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Grace Jones appears in Juano’s work
- author, pauline maclean
- role, BBC Scottish Arts Correspondent
- twitter,
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Over the past 20 years, Juano Diaz has made a name for himself in the worlds of fashion, art, and music.
He has collaborated with numerous designers and artists, including Gilbert and George, Pierre et Gyre, and David La Chapelle.
His own work combines digital images and paintings and features Madonna, Grace Jones, and Pharrell Williams.
But as he explains in his memoir, Slumboy, this is a different world than the one he grew up in.
Born in Glasgow in 1977, he did not know his father beyond the name on his birth certificate.
He was taken into care when he was four years old because his mother was a drug addict and frequently left him behind.
Juano’s work combines digital media and painting
The former children’s home is now a private home, but the owners have agreed to let John and Juano take a look inside for the first time in more than 40 years.
“It looks so small now, but I think it was smaller,” he says.
The staircase has large stained glass windows depicting figures representing art and industry.
“That room was my bedroom. I must have gone there every day, but I don’t remember.”
“There’s a lot to accept. A lot of dark things have happened here, but there have also been some good things. Of course, this is where I was adopted. That changed everything.” ”
John’s new family was from the Romany-Gypsy tradition. His grandmother claimed a direct connection to Charles Far Blyth, the last Gypsy king of Scotland.
“My grandmother was a great storyteller, so I try to incorporate a little bit of that into my art. I’m proud of people.
“They welcomed me into their home and loved me as if I were their own. There was no judgment or separation. I had the most wonderful childhood.”
Juano was taken into care at Glen Rosa Children’s Home.
However, his happiness was shattered when his adoptive mother died in a traffic accident.
As a young, mixed-race, gay man, he struggled with his identity. His art gallery in Kelvingrove in Glasgow provided a haven and a source of inspiration.
There were two pictures in particular. Salvador Dali’s Christ of St. John of the Cross and Sir James Guthrie’s “Highland Funeral.”
“In that photo, I saw my father returning the hat from my mother’s funeral,” he says.
“But most of the time I just sat in an alcove and took portraits.
“I wanted to be an artist from an early age.
“As someone who was raised as an adopted child, I think portraits became so important to me because I wanted to remain with the faces of the people I was separated from.
“So I kept drawing faces over and over again.”
As a boy, Juano drew faces many times.
After unsuccessfully trying to enroll in art school, he moved to Paris and modeled for the French art duo Pierre et Gyre and the late Thierry Mugler.
There he took back his name from his South African father.
“When I started working with Pierre et Giles, people would say, what should I call you?
“That’s when I said Juano. That’s the name on my birth certificate and it was only changed by adoption, so I took it back.”
He began creating unique art that drew on his diverse heritage. The chosen piece involves layered painting on a digital image of a real person.
This work is on display at the Museum of Modern Art and the Leslie Roman Museum of Art. And on at least one occasion, the subject asked to purchase the work.
“I got a call from Grace Jones’ son who had seen my work on the website and asked if I wanted to sell it. When I said yes, he said I could take it to London the same day. So that night I was in Grace Jones’ dressing room at the end of her show.”
Madonna is one of the many celebrities who appear in Juano’s work
Grace not only purchased the work, but also became a friend of the family.
“My partner and I took our son to see her last year. We didn’t get a chance because of the pandemic. She loved him dearly. When we left, she said, Please tell everyone that I am your art godmother. It was a very surreal moment.
Juano started writing her memoir 10 years ago, but said she had no intention of publishing it.
“It was more of a catharsis. And it was emotional because I was going through 200 pages of social work records, down to the food I ate. I had no intention of writing a book, but That’s what happened.”
Andrew O’Hagan read an early draft and sent it to the publisher. It was originally planned to be titled “Lucky Boy,” but the title was changed to “Slum Boy.”
Juano and Grace Jones are now best friends
“I’m being cynical, but I’ve had a really lucky life. If I hadn’t been hired, it could have been very different than it is now. I don’t even know if I would have been here.” not.”
“When they suggested ‘Slumboy,’ I said no, you can’t call it that. It’s totally derogatory, but I just sat on it and thought it worked. I noticed that.
“The publisher said, look, if anyone could give you that title, it’s you. What was your childhood like, did you live with your mother? I said it was a slum.
“There was no glass in the bedroom windows. It was cold, damp, and a slum.”
He says he has tried to tell his story through art but always failed.
“I don’t like dark art because it seems too dark. I like to celebrate magical, bright and colorful things.”
But writing the book led him to explore his own story. He is currently working on a series of paintings based on photographs by documentarian Nick Hedges.
But he says he’s happy to end each day in a warm, happy home with his partner and son.
Slum Boy: A Portrait will be published by Brazen Press on Thursday, February 29th.
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