Joseph Wilson
Director at Prettybird
Interview by: Katy Pryer
Joseph Wilson’s work has a unique intimacy to it. Something that comes from being as much a part of the East London drag scene, as he is a documenter of it. For him, drag and directing have been intrinsically tied together from the get-go, “one impossible without the other.”
Drag Is My Ecstasy marked his first foray into documentary and focused on the lives of queer collective Sink the Pink, of which Joseph had been a part for many years. “I was so lucky to be involved, it happened in a really authentic organic way. Through those experiences, I always had my camera with me, I wasn't an outsider, trying to intrude. I was part of the story.”
The film marked a turning point in his career and revealed his unique vision of the world around him. “Everyone had always shown these parties as crazy and hectic, but I wanted to do something different. It was as if the camera wasn't really there. And then the more work I put out, the more people wanted to be featured and involved.”
Years ago production companies would say: “Don't you feel you're too much in a box, that you just do gay stuff? But these are narratives and stories that I never saw when I was growing up. And I want people to see how wonderful these people are, the importance of our liberation and how far we've come."
Joseph is now signed with Prettybird, and is excited to be working with Executive Producer and Prettybird UK Co-founder, Juliette Larthe. He says, "they support me being an independent artist and myself. Taking what I'm good at, using both of our strong points and combining them."
His Amazon Prime x TikTok Love Stories is the perfect demonstration of this, bringing a life's work of personal projects into the commercial field, all heart, no compromise. "Everything I've done. It's very art based almost like stepping stones. Now I’m showing that I'm diverse and versatile."
Whatever Joseph is doing works, as last September Isn’t it a Beautiful World earned him a spot on the Dazed Class of 2021, announced by Marina Abramovic. He brandishes the enormous arrow shape Dazed x Circa award. “Everyone’s clapping and she's on the big screen. It was surreal. It felt like The Hunger Games.”
“I’m hoping to exhibit the film as a live immersive installation next. I want to recreate the worlds in which the film takes place. A dilapidated world of childhood, like Tidal Wave at Thorpe Park, but with soundscapes and dancers bringing you into the film.” Who better to help build these surreal and fantastic worlds than Tony Hornecker, with whom Joseph struck up a relationship years ago, working as a waiter and then a performer at Hornecker’s East London drag dinner party, Pale Blue Door.
The narratives he explores holding up a kaleidoscopic mirror to the LGBTQ+ community, amplifying voices and celebrating stories. “One of my favourite things about being part of that community is that everything we do is making queer history, every day,” Joseph muses. “Dancing till 5am at Superstore? That’s history!”
Last year however, his film Il-Widna - a dystopian narrative reimagining the effects of Thatcher’s Section 28 - became a permanent feature of the Bishopsgate Institute archives, staking his claim on history in a more tangible and indelible fashion.
“Where,” he asks, “do I go from here?” Watch closely and perhaps, you’ll find out.
