10 Questions with HXNNXBLE

HXNNXH + NOBLE = HXNNXBLE (HAN-nuh-bull)

Hannah Jeaneal Garrison, a.k.a. HXNNXH (like HANNAH but backward and upside down palindromic), felt like an alien growing up in Texas. In 2010 she left the DFW area for the hippie life at, The Evergreen State College, where she met her partner Noble. Exploring her dreams of teaching through creativity and learning through travel, she pursued a degree in Consciousness Studies. After studying under the Shipibo ayahuasqueros in Peru, she became inspired to change the world through art and music!
Hannah has modelled for fine art photographers, including Joyce Tenneson and Elizabeth Opalenik. Her contributions to HXNNXBLE include: acting, concept design, modelling, poetry (hip hop), storyboarding, video editing, and visual art with a focus on other-worldly entities.

Hailing from New York City, Noble Trevaun Russell-Frazier was born with an eclectic aesthetic. Possessing the lust for life via the eternal quest for truth, specifically through philosophy and poetry, Noble honed his autodidactic occult and secular knowledge as a non-traditional student at Evergreen, where he was awarded the Gilman Scholarship for his outstanding merit in photography and research. His ontological influences stem from Nietzsche, Tesla, and Roerich, branching to Blavatsky, Jung, and Ouspensky.

His contributions to HXNNXBLE include creative direction, costuming, editing, music production, photography, videography, and writing.

Traversing the world, studying long-lost civilizations, team HXNNXBLE found multimedia art as the perfect conduit to present ancient wisdom in a futuristic format. After producing and teaching in Hong Kong for six years (2016-2021), HXNNXBLE currently lives and works nomadically, promoting HXNNXBLE and Aetherealism as their contribution to the world.

www.hxnnxble.net

ARTIST STATEMENT

HXNNXBLE is a collective promoting a new school of art they coined, Aetherealism. As Einstein is the patron saint of modern science, so would Nikola Tesla be to Aetherealism. It is from Tesla’s term-- “luminferous ether” -- which Aetherealism garners its name. Ether (æther, aither, or aether) -- as both a scientific and esoteric concept-- symbolizes to HXNNXBLE a state-of-the-art, gold standard uniting all forms of creativity. The Aetherealist objective is to inspire imagination via the syzygy of art, spirituality, and technology.

The Aetherealist movement will be to the 2020s what Surrealism was to the 1920s! To elucidate, Aetherealism is: existential, futuristic, magical realist, multimedia, and transcendental. Aetherealists use any means of learning-- from ancient wisdom to modern technology-- innovating pieces to vivify the patron’s intellect, physicality, and spirit. Most importantly, Aetheralists collaborate to make eclectic art for a utopic future!

INTERVIEW

You are an artistic duo. How did you meet, and why did you decide to work together?

HXNNXH:
We met in the fall of 2010 at The Evergreen State College in the "Dance of Consciousness" program and quickly developed as kindred, free spirits. We connected on a soulful and intellectual, albeit platonic level, sharing an artistic vision and lust for adventure. 

NOBLE:
We were both emboldened by our anthropological learnings. I had already started experimenting with poetry and film (using a darkroom) and found in Hannah (not yet HXNNXH), the perfect muse. At Evergreen, we were catapulted into capturing lyricism in an image – both still and moving, silent and aural. 
Our first romp as an erotic couple was exploring the Yucatan Peninsula for school credit, documenting the sacred sites and mythoi of the Maya in the spring of 2011. Thereafter, we produced our first short film – "IMAGINATRIX" – a 13-minute music video that became the first concrete step in a (thus far) dozen-year journey-- yeah, we a crazy artist couple! 

Tell us more about your individual backgrounds. Who are you and how did you start experimenting with images?

HXNNXH:

Being raised by a lesbian, single mother within the conservative ideals of the South felt very isolating. I became a young sceptic, rebelling against all forms of dogma; thus began my pursuit of revelation. As an introvert, I spent most of my time alone outside, drawing, listening to music, and reading. The greatest influence on my childhood was creating collage art out of my grandmother's National Geographic collection, dating back decades. The imagery in these magazines instilled a wanderlust in my impressionable psyche, as well as the concept of collage– the creation of something new through the cohesion of the many– which became an ever-evolving theme in my work.  
In college, I wanted to do it all, and Evergreen's interdisciplinary and collaborative coursework granted me the freedom to experiment with ingenious individuals such as Noble. Heavily inspired by Jeremy Narby's Ph. D research on shamanism, The Cosmic Serpent, Ryan McGinley's nude photography, and Jodorowsky's psycho-magical film, The Holy Mountain, I began unifying my passions. Having new outlets for creativity, including video art, modelling, hip hop, and travel, I found myself low-key bringing back the Renaissance woman vibe!  

NOBLE:

I am synthesis. 
I synthesize heritage, being "mixed race"– black, white, and native.
I synthesize perspectives. My childhood was split between middle-class, New York City extravagance with dad (only child), and country bumpkin toil in "Smallville," Kansas with a mom of five.
I synthesize schools. I was raised old-school– think a thick, musky Aesop's Fables and whippings with a belt; think PBS, no internet, and playing outside day & night– rain, snow, or shine. I aspire to integrate new-school CGI with practical effects, as best epitomized in the late 90s (imho). 
I synthesize systems. I grew up as a know-it-all teacher's pet, replete with the secular indoctrination of academia, only to 180 in my 20s– becoming an adherent of magick via right and left-hand paths. Later, I synthesized black/ white into my own brand– Gold Majik. 
In 2002, a book on crop circles (Freddy Silva's Secrets in the Fields…) taught me to fuse the right and left sides of the brain via the praxis of sacred geometry. I synthesize minds. 
I synthesize what William (Blake or Shakespeare) would word-- into the visions of a Symbolist.
My ideals regarding image can be traced to Kurosawa (Dreams) and Jeunet (Amélie). Both synthesize the pantheon of human experience, dreamily illumining our often bleak, mortal coils.

How would you define yourself as an artist today? And is this definition different or in line with HXNNXBLE mission? 

NOBLE:
I am an objective artist. I am not and do not do “l'art pour l'art" (art for art's sake). Many would then incorrectly accuse me of not holding value in pure, subjective art. Alas, I see my objectives as more honest than one who claims one's art is open to interpretation.
The objective of my art – to bring the connoisseur to a place of meditation – an ingoing – creating a confrontation of one's personal aesthetic of Truth and Beauty. Be the work tragic or delightful, I tend toward the triumph of gratitude over apathy. Amor fati! 
My particular brand of art is both in-line and apart from the mission of HXNNXBLE in that I represent the yang, masculine, more objective, and quantifiable aspect of our collective, whereas HXNNXH represents the yin, feminine, more subjective, and qualifiable. I truly believe that all creation/ invention is best when two or more minds have worked as a team to achieve the goal of "completion" (the ever-unattainable goal of artists). A child cannot be born without sperm and egg…

HXNNXH:
I am an Aetherealist. I arouse the stagnant by innovating through collaborative creations; I challenge perceptions and vivify the beholder. Where NOBLE represents the more objective, I recognize that the subjective is inescapable. I believe that an element left to the imagination can create a spark of sentience, allowing for an intimate dialogue to occur between the animate and inanimate.
My alignment with the HXNNXBLE mission was an amalgamation of life's valuable lessons. I have come to honour the power of synergy. Change does not ride upon the shoulders of one person's talent. I have become the change. I am not a woman; I am a crucible.

Tell us about the process of creating your work. What is your artistic routine when working? Do you both work on a piece together, or do you have specific roles? 

Our process for photography and video is very locale-based– everything from modern, mega-cities to ancient, sacred sites to massive, inactive volcanoes. We create "on-location," and oftentimes our location is the real subject of the art. In this manner, our bodies become secondary instruments merely meant to offer scale and enunciate the set. 
Our routine is war. Afterall, we are both dual fire signs-- Leo/ Sag. (NOBLE) and double Aries (HXNNXH)-- precluding we can, will, and do fight fire with fire. 
In most cases a set is chosen and a concept/ theme/ moral hashed out. We go to the location together, battle over specifics and get some content in the can. 
Typically, NOBLE is more the director, and cameraman, while HXNNXH enjoys the acting. Editing is the brunt of the work, in which the load is split equally.  
We battle over what looks best, what to subtract/ add. Finally, we have a "finished" product. We battle over how to celebrate. Then… Heaven on Earth.
While NOBLE focuses more on writing and HXNNXH, more on illustrating concepts, with regards to our music, we both write and edit our lyrics together, collaborating with friends for our tracks (we never battle with our collaborators).
In the case of our mixed media visual art, imagination is the set. The primary subjects are created by HXNNXH and infused with sacred geometry created by NOBLE. 
Making art together is our love language; we unveil our strengths and vulnerabilities. The entire colour wheel of the emotional spectrum is used to produce each piece. Our art is the epitome of alchemy; we transmute our blood, sweat, tears, cum, and pride as our communion with divinity! 

What would you like to communicate with your work? What are the main themes you pursue?

We weave disparate threads in the fashion of Consciousness Studies. Take a dark conception and elucidate it. Take a light abstraction and accentuate its beautiful shadows, darkly. We juxtapose the nude form– symbol of our Physiology of Philosophy– with nature and sacred sites, ancient to modern. We challenge the foundations of ontology– creating a new Cosmology of Philosophy. Whether word, sound, or image, our art is ethereal and poetic, be it monochrome or boldly colourful. We identify with those alienated by the current zeitgeist.

HXNNXH:
Love bridges gaps between segregations. While pursuing themes of alienation-- race, gender, sexuality, age, etc.-- I confront relativity. United we create. Divided we are complacent.

NOBLE:
My life reconciles opposites into one full, albeit damaged entity. Alas, I am become kintsugi the Japanese art of using gold to fuse shattered pottery– my brokenness (coming from more than one broken family) is an integral part of my wholeness.  
The world, as is (exemplified in our post-covid era), teaches us to live out of spite to life. Despite the lies, failings, shortcomings, and long-goings, we still have creativity! In the end, we will hearten future generations to greater technology and more humane, thriving ways of life.

Let's talk about Aetherealism. Can you give us a definition?

Aetherealism- (uh-THEER-EE-uh-liz-um) 
Aetherealism of the 2020s is a direct response to Surrealism of the 1920s. As opposed to being antithetical, Aetherealism more closely synthesizes Surrealism with the Magical Realism of the 21st century.
Objectivity is the most significant subtraction from the Surrealist movement. Where a Surrealist would pit images against one another that are intentionally nonsensical, there is always a sense to Aetherealism– a purpose, a moral to the story, a method to the madness.

Aetherealism IS:

1. Objective
2. Existential 
3. Magical Realist
4. Non-Dual
5. Symbolist
6. Neo-Futurist
7. Collaborative
8. Transcendental
9. Multimedia

Aetherealism IS NOT:
1. Nihilistic 
2. Agnostic
3. Modern Art
4. Political
5. Hedonistic
6. Religious
7. Luddite
8. Academic
9. Master/Slave Moralistic 

Aetherealism unites innovators to create pieces across disciplines– art, film, music, technology, pedagogy, et al. Although Aetherealism does not shy away from the for-profit industry, the focus is the future, in which we utilize our genius to live harmoniously within our environment (mutualism).

How did you come up with this idea?

In one of our art classes at Evergreen – the one in which we learned of the criminally underrated and underappreciated Surrealists, Remedios Varo and Leonora Carrington – we waxed eloquent on how cool it would be to start our own, neo-art movement! André Breton was a no-name poet when he wrote the Surrealist Manifesto! We admired the community he co-founded thereafter; we also conceptualized– what could be better? We saw shortcomings in Surrealist theory. Where Breton would define Surrealism as "pure psychic automatism" HXNNXBLE (closer to the discernment of a Jungian) would insert the need for something more objective, attainable; lest we say "adult." Where Breton and his Dadaist ilk were Freudian oneironauts disbanding the lines between dream and reality, madness and reason, aesthetic and moral platitudes, we represent the remoralization of Surrealism. We are honest about our aesthetic having intentions.   

What do you think about the art community and market? And what do you do to keep them engaged in your work?

We have experienced a lack of interdisciplinary cohesion and, specifically, community– especially after the social estrangement COVID-19 created! What was the last movement of art to get worldwide recognition? Are we all Modern artists now, by default? 
We think: the market is ruled by social media. While social media started as a means for connecting and sharing, we see the subversion of its original purpose. Artists compete against one another whilst producing redundant content that eventually loses originality. Frankly, we find this expectation boring. As artists, we have become more disconnected and censored than ever. We call it the "Pop Art Paradigm." Art became Consumerism– popularity became the content. 

"Making money is art."- Andy Warhol  

In this era of Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and YouTube, we see the most successful artists as the greatest examples of Individualist philosophy– how many likes, subs, hearts, followers, endorsements, and/or dollars can I attain? In not knocking Individualism, we espouse Aetherealism as a community of individuals– the aim of which is nothing short of creating a more collaborative, thriving, utopian culture.
In not knocking the utility of social media, we prefer to engage our audience in older school methods, e.g., exhibitions, performances, and/ or magazines. We do not want or need the masses. We are art for artists. We acknowledge our niche is quaint. Keeping our minority market engaged then becomes more the paradox of quality over quantity. We see the propensity of content creation for the sheer sake of having content, but we certainly do not and will not sacrifice the purpose, meaning, and objective of our art.  

What are you working on now, and what are your plans for the future? Anything exciting you can tell us about?

Currently, we have an "Arthouse Superhero" (our term) treatment copyrighted and ready for production. This may manifest in a myriad of ways, including but not limited to anime, films, graphic novels, and/or a TV series. Two words: GOLD GIRL©
Later this year, HXNNXBLE will publish a book that will concretize our moral, philosophical, and cosmological perspectives in, The Imaginatrix: A Tryptic Through the Aether– contributing the birth of Aetherealism in poetic form. The book will also feature a few still images to illustrate the poems in the style of Blake's, Songs of Innocence and of Experience.
We have also been dabbling in fashion! In response to many requests, we are in the works of creating an online store for our "lil alien bae" brand.  
Next, we will follow our debut album, HXNNXBLE (2019)-- mostly produced by Lesmus aka Marcel Ma-- with a second, more accessible, dancey, and uplifting album.
NFTs have been in the cultural milieu. We have developed a portfolio to launch on Rarible and endeavour to be a part of Nifty & SuperRare in the future.  
Mirroring the creation of the Surrealist movement with the Surrealist Manifesto of 1924, the Aetherealist Manifesto will be published exactly a century later, in 2024.
In the wake of our projects on the forefront for 2023-2024, we will also publish an illustrated children's book featuring Aetheria! 

Finally, share something you would like our readers to know about you.

We are looking to expand our Aetherealist collective. If you are an interested artist, gallery, investor, musician, publisher, producer, or techy, we would love to hear from you! For collaborations, commissions, or inquiries please contact us on our website!