Jibz Cameron

Jibz Cameron (born 1975) is an American queer performance artist, visual artist, recording artist, and video artist most known for her work produced under the persona Dynasty Handbag, an alter ego created in 2001. Her performance art has been called "outrageously smart, grotesque and innovative" by The New Yorker and referred to as "[...] one of the most insanely funny, tone-perfect pieces of performance art I have seen in years" by Jennifer Dunning in The New York Times.

Early life and education Jibralia "Jibz" Cameron was born in 1975 in Annapolis in northern California. As a child she attended Wavy Gravy's Summer Camp, Camp Winnarainbow, a performing arts camp which leaned more towards an activist message.

Despite not graduating high school, Cameron applied to the San Francisco Art Institute after some friends encouraged her, The art institute introduced Cameron to performance art

Dynasty Handbag tends to wear thick and messy makeup with outlandish outfits on stage, such as a black spandex swimsuit or a vintage long-sleeved shirt and transparent tights tucked into oversized, gold granny panties.

Handbag's one-woman act additionally has a political aspect as she openly brings up gender and queer issues. As Cultural theorist José Esteban Muñoz once wrote, "Dynasty Handbag's queer failure is not an aesthetic failure but, instead, a political refusal. It is going off script, and the script in this instance is the mandate that makes queer and other minoritarian cultural performers work not for themselves but for distorted cultural hierarchy."

In 2023, Handbag did a performance, "Titanic Depression," that has been commissioned by Pioneer Works curator Everitt Howe.

Past guest stars of Weirdo Night include: Ayo Edebiri, Joseph Keckler, Jack Black, Tanya Haden, Kate Berlant, Puddles Pity Party, John Early, Mitra Jouhari, Xina Xurner, Sarah Squirm, River Ramirez, Francesca D'Uva, Anna Homler, emotional store, Christina Catherine Martinez, Marley Eat My Ass Gotterer, Kristina Wong, Jerry Jergens, Marawa The Amazing, Naz Riahi, Wild Yawp, Rudy Blue Martinez, Nao Bustamante, Carrie Brownstein, Tashi Condolee, Hardcore Tina, Seth Bogart, Charles Galin, John C. Reilly, Kathleen Hanna, Trap Girl, San-Cha, Maria Bamford, Cole Escola, eddy kwon, Jack Ferver, Holland Andrews, Illustrious Pearl, Svetlana Kitto, Meriem Bennani, Raphael Khouri, Candy Pain, Miss Barbie-Q, Lizzy Cooperman, Atsuko Okatsuka, Penis, Karen Tongson, Peter Kim, Sandy Smiles, CHRISTEENE, MINIVAN, and La Pregunta.

Exhibitions Her performances and video works have been presented at prestigious venues and festivals including the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh, the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles, The Kitchen in New York, REDCAT in Los Angeles, Brooklyn Academy of Music, The New Museum in New York, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Joe's Pub in New York, Performa in New York, the Portland Institute for Contemporary Art, Centre Pompidou in Paris, the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, SXSW in Austin, and others.

Visual art Cameron is a visual artist who creates drawings and other visual works. Her visual art has been exhibited at galleries including Maccarone in Los Angeles.

Artistic influences Music is a big creative element in Cameron's works, which might have stemmed from childhood love of the radio. Cameron additionally ties a lot of inspiration for her performance art from her childhood trauma. In an interview with Ed Patuto of The Broad, regarding her video, I Hate This Place, she links her style with the need to make light of past trauma as a sort of coping mechanism:

I subscribe to the comedy is tragedy plus time adage. When I'm able to process things and communicate them after the fact, they come out funny. I Hate This Place, 2020 4:33 commissioned by the BROAD Museum Vat Do You Van For Bwekfas, 2016, 2:30 directed by Mariah Garnett, produced by Starburns Ind. for Jash The Quiet Storm, 2007, 09:00 min, directed by Hedia Maron, Written by Jibz Cameron FASCIST DICTATORSHIP MAKEUP TUTORIAL, 2016, 6:20 min Don't Sit/Lie, 2015, 2:05, Erase Errata video directed by Hannah Lew

Performance Weirdo Night, November 7, 2021, Zebulon LA Weirdo Night, December 5, 2021 Weirdo Night – April 21, 2022, The Bell House Weirdo Night, June 5, 2022 at Zebulon Weirdo Night, October 2, 2022, Zebulon Weirdo Night, Dec 4, 2022 – Zebulon Weirdo Night at the Bell House, Feb 2nd, 2023

Awards and honors Cameron received the 2022 Guggenheim Fellowship in Drama & Performance Art.