Jovan is a graphic artist who is materializing worlds where all bodies can feel acknowledged and ultimately free. Jovan is well known as a DJ and nightlife organizer who throws a queer perreo party called Mami Slut in CDMX. But, for this episode of Open Estudios, we focus on the fantastical paintings, illustrations and imagery created in her studio.  

At the center of Jovan’s imagery are stylized, erotic and mystical bodies enrapt in an array of sensations. As Jovan explains, some may be shocked by the work’s sexual elements, but breaking from aesthetic norms is part of the goal. 

Jovan’s worlds and characters are symbolic representations of a vivid human existence just below the surface of a society that suffers from machismo and intolerance for joy in LGBTQ communities. In Jovan’s imagined environments, people feel freely, move fluidly and embody resistance to contemporary repression while asserting their will to exist in any form of their choosing. Whether it’s throwing a sex-positive party, giving a workshop on trans rights or sexual health, or capturing the beautiful essence of her community, Jovan just wants to be free.