{"id":130102,"date":"2026-07-27T12:30:48","date_gmt":"2026-07-27T10:30:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/?p=130102"},"modified":"2026-07-27T12:55:49","modified_gmt":"2026-07-27T10:55:49","slug":"as-if-i-am","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/de\/article\/as-if-i-am\/","title":{"rendered":"As If I Am"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":347,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_kad_post_transparent":"default","_kad_post_title":"default","_kad_post_layout":"default","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"default","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"default","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[11856],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-130102","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sleek-art"],"acf":{"legacy":false,"exclude_from_ads":[],"hero_title":"","subtitle":"","hero":{"video":false,"image":false,"header_color":"black","overlay_color":"","overlay_text_color":"black"},"teasers":{"video":false,"image":{"ID":130113,"id":130113,"title":"Casey Spooner 2","filename":"Casey-Spooner-2-.jpg","filesize":134772,"url":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Casey-Spooner-2-.jpg","link":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/de\/article\/as-if-i-am\/casey-spooner-2\/","alt":"","author":"1","description":"","caption":"Bodysuit WOLFORD\nCoat XIAO XU\nShoes LEON EMANUEL BLANCK\nGlasses MYKITA","name":"casey-spooner-2","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":130102,"date":"2026-07-21 13:12:41","modified":"2026-07-27 10:30:44","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1536,"height":1920,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Casey-Spooner-2-.jpg","thumbnail-width":77,"thumbnail-height":96,"medium":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Casey-Spooner-2-.jpg","medium-width":1536,"medium-height":1920,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Casey-Spooner-2-.jpg","medium_large-width":1536,"medium_large-height":1920,"large":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Casey-Spooner-2-.jpg","large-width":1536,"large-height":1920,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Casey-Spooner-2--1229x1536.jpg","1536x1536-width":1229,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Casey-Spooner-2-.jpg","2048x2048-width":1536,"2048x2048-height":1920,"trp-custom-language-flag":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Casey-Spooner-2--10x12.jpg","trp-custom-language-flag-width":10,"trp-custom-language-flag-height":12,"wpvr_mobile":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Casey-Spooner-2-.jpg","wpvr_mobile-width":1536,"wpvr_mobile-height":1920}},"width":"4","proportion":"default"},"facebook_image":false,"related_articles":"","next_article":"","main_category":false,"content":[{"acf_fc_layout":"images","gallery":[{"ID":130113,"id":130113,"title":"Casey Spooner 2","filename":"Casey-Spooner-2-.jpg","filesize":134772,"url":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Casey-Spooner-2-.jpg","link":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/de\/article\/as-if-i-am\/casey-spooner-2\/","alt":"","author":"1","description":"","caption":"Bodysuit WOLFORD\nCoat XIAO XU\nShoes LEON EMANUEL BLANCK\nGlasses MYKITA","name":"casey-spooner-2","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":130102,"date":"2026-07-21 13:12:41","modified":"2026-07-27 10:30:44","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1536,"height":1920,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Casey-Spooner-2-.jpg","thumbnail-width":77,"thumbnail-height":96,"medium":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Casey-Spooner-2-.jpg","medium-width":1536,"medium-height":1920,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Casey-Spooner-2-.jpg","medium_large-width":1536,"medium_large-height":1920,"large":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Casey-Spooner-2-.jpg","large-width":1536,"large-height":1920,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Casey-Spooner-2--1229x1536.jpg","1536x1536-width":1229,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Casey-Spooner-2-.jpg","2048x2048-width":1536,"2048x2048-height":1920,"trp-custom-language-flag":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Casey-Spooner-2--10x12.jpg","trp-custom-language-flag-width":10,"trp-custom-language-flag-height":12,"wpvr_mobile":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Casey-Spooner-2-.jpg","wpvr_mobile-width":1536,"wpvr_mobile-height":1920}},{"ID":130114,"id":130114,"title":"Casey Spooner 3","filename":"Casey-Spooner-3-.jpg","filesize":265590,"url":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Casey-Spooner-3-.jpg","link":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/de\/article\/as-if-i-am\/casey-spooner-3\/","alt":"","author":"1","description":"","caption":"Feather Jacket LEON EMANUEL BLANCK","name":"casey-spooner-3","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":130102,"date":"2026-07-21 13:12:45","modified":"2026-07-21 14:04:29","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1536,"height":1920,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Casey-Spooner-3-.jpg","thumbnail-width":77,"thumbnail-height":96,"medium":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Casey-Spooner-3-.jpg","medium-width":1536,"medium-height":1920,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Casey-Spooner-3-.jpg","medium_large-width":1536,"medium_large-height":1920,"large":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Casey-Spooner-3-.jpg","large-width":1536,"large-height":1920,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Casey-Spooner-3--1229x1536.jpg","1536x1536-width":1229,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Casey-Spooner-3-.jpg","2048x2048-width":1536,"2048x2048-height":1920,"trp-custom-language-flag":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Casey-Spooner-3--10x12.jpg","trp-custom-language-flag-width":10,"trp-custom-language-flag-height":12,"wpvr_mobile":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Casey-Spooner-3-.jpg","wpvr_mobile-width":1536,"wpvr_mobile-height":1920}},{"ID":130112,"id":130112,"title":"Casey Spooner 1","filename":"Casey-Spooner-1-.jpg","filesize":166191,"url":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Casey-Spooner-1-.jpg","link":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/de\/article\/as-if-i-am\/casey-spooner-1\/","alt":"","author":"1","description":"","caption":"Bodysuit WOLFORD\r\nCoat XIAO XU\r\nShoes LEON EMANUEL BLANCK\r\nGlasses MYKITA","name":"casey-spooner-1","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":130102,"date":"2026-07-21 13:12:33","modified":"2026-07-27 09:17:36","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1536,"height":1920,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Casey-Spooner-1-.jpg","thumbnail-width":77,"thumbnail-height":96,"medium":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Casey-Spooner-1-.jpg","medium-width":1536,"medium-height":1920,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Casey-Spooner-1-.jpg","medium_large-width":1536,"medium_large-height":1920,"large":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Casey-Spooner-1-.jpg","large-width":1536,"large-height":1920,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Casey-Spooner-1--1229x1536.jpg","1536x1536-width":1229,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Casey-Spooner-1-.jpg","2048x2048-width":1536,"2048x2048-height":1920,"trp-custom-language-flag":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Casey-Spooner-1--10x12.jpg","trp-custom-language-flag-width":10,"trp-custom-language-flag-height":12,"wpvr_mobile":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Casey-Spooner-1-.jpg","wpvr_mobile-width":1536,"wpvr_mobile-height":1920}}],"settings":{"fit_width":"4","caption":""}},{"acf_fc_layout":"blockquote","text":"Casey Spooner on Life as an Artist Between Modes, Geographies, and Ideas.","source":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"text_area","text_area":"

CASEY SPOONER<\/strong> is like a cat with nine lives \u2013 except he seems to live them all simultaneously. Moving fluidly across disciplines, personas, geographies and emotional states, Spooner has spent decades shifting between music, performance, fashion, theatre and political commentary without ever fully settling into one form. What might initially appear erratic instead reveals itself as a deliberate mode of engagement \u2013 one that invites chance, collaboration, community and life itself into the process of making art. Our conversation meanders much like Spooner\u2019s own practice \u2013 weaving together spectacle and performance, New York in the nineties and the formation of FischerSpooner, personas and mutability, desire and the body, intuition and collaboration, politics and Spooner2020, before ultimately arriving in Berlin, with reinvention and the possibility of becoming someone else entirely.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"text_area","text_area":"

NISHA MERIT<\/strong> On the way here, you were thinking about your relationship to spectacle, why?<\/p>\n

CASEY SPOONER<\/strong> Spectacle has probably been the central thing I\u2019ve always been dealing with or working through. I was thinking about it because we\u2019re preparing to release the FischerSpooner catalogue \u2013 twenty years of work \u2013 and I found myself reconsidering some of the old imagery and asking why certain things age and others don\u2019t. If you\u2019re an American artist, you\u2019re always responding to spectacle in some way \u2013 either wanting to participate in it, critique it, or resist being seduced by it. And over the past twenty years, the art world has also become completely absorbed by spectacle. Performance art is more popular than ever, especially in Berlin. But I\u2019ve also fallen a little out of love with spectacle. It\u2019s become predictable. And honestly, I think the collapse of American politics is deeply connected to spectacle \u2013 entertainment merging with politics and news until democracy itself becomes performance. What\u2019s strange is that I\u2019m simultaneously preparing a major museum performance at the Beyeler Foundation. So I\u2019m asking myself again: what does spectacle mean to me now? I almost moved to Berlin already in the summer of 2000. I came during Love Parade and it was that incredible moment of Berlin club culture \u2013 philosophical, laid-back, politically conscious. Americans can be incredibly detached from history, whereas Berlin always felt grounded in historical awareness.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"images","gallery":[{"ID":130111,"id":130111,"title":"Casey 6","filename":"Casey-6-.jpg","filesize":141633,"url":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Casey-6-.jpg","link":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/de\/article\/as-if-i-am\/casey-6-2\/","alt":"","author":"1","description":"","caption":"Shirt and Skirt IDEN\r\nSocks FALKE\r\nShoes MONT\u00c0\r\nSock Garters STYLISTS OWN\r\nGlasses MYKITA","name":"casey-6-2","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":130102,"date":"2026-07-21 13:12:28","modified":"2026-07-21 14:04:46","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1371,"height":1920,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Casey-6-.jpg","thumbnail-width":69,"thumbnail-height":96,"medium":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Casey-6-.jpg","medium-width":1371,"medium-height":1920,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Casey-6-.jpg","medium_large-width":1371,"medium_large-height":1920,"large":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Casey-6-.jpg","large-width":1371,"large-height":1920,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Casey-6--1097x1536.jpg","1536x1536-width":1097,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Casey-6-.jpg","2048x2048-width":1371,"2048x2048-height":1920,"trp-custom-language-flag":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Casey-6--9x12.jpg","trp-custom-language-flag-width":9,"trp-custom-language-flag-height":12,"wpvr_mobile":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Casey-6-.jpg","wpvr_mobile-width":1371,"wpvr_mobile-height":1920}},{"ID":130109,"id":130109,"title":"CAsey 5","filename":"CAsey-5-.jpg","filesize":137728,"url":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/CAsey-5-.jpg","link":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/de\/article\/as-if-i-am\/casey-5\/","alt":"","author":"1","description":"","caption":"Panty Harness STYLISTS OWN\r\nSocks HAPPY SOCKS\r\nTop & Jackets WILLIAM FAN","name":"casey-5","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":130102,"date":"2026-07-21 13:12:11","modified":"2026-07-21 14:03:16","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1536,"height":1920,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/CAsey-5-.jpg","thumbnail-width":77,"thumbnail-height":96,"medium":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/CAsey-5-.jpg","medium-width":1536,"medium-height":1920,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/CAsey-5-.jpg","medium_large-width":1536,"medium_large-height":1920,"large":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/CAsey-5-.jpg","large-width":1536,"large-height":1920,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/CAsey-5--1229x1536.jpg","1536x1536-width":1229,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/CAsey-5-.jpg","2048x2048-width":1536,"2048x2048-height":1920,"trp-custom-language-flag":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/CAsey-5--10x12.jpg","trp-custom-language-flag-width":10,"trp-custom-language-flag-height":12,"wpvr_mobile":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/CAsey-5-.jpg","wpvr_mobile-width":1536,"wpvr_mobile-height":1920}}],"settings":{"fit_width":"4","caption":""}},{"acf_fc_layout":"text_area","text_area":"

NM<\/strong> What did New York in the nineties feel like, and what were you reacting to with FischerSpooner?<\/p>\n

CS<\/strong> New York in the nineties felt enormous and mysterious. There was no FOMO because the world still felt local. If you found your people and your scene, it genuinely felt like you were at the centre of the world. FischerSpooner happened almost accidentally. Warren Fischer and I initially started collaborating because I was worried about his drug use. We began making music together in a tiny Chinatown apartment. The breakthrough was a performance we did in a Starbucks in 1998. After years of dense, intellectual performance work, suddenly doing something humorous, glamorous and synthetic inside a corporate public space felt liberating. And that really became the thesis: I\u2019d rather make something that feels good, looks good and sounds good. FischerSpooner was never just Warren and me. It was a much larger collective energy \u2013 rehearsals, fittings, photo shoots, performances.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"text_area","text_area":"

NM<\/strong> Your work constantly moves between Casey Spooner and constructed personas. How do you navigate?<\/p>\n

CS<\/strong> Often the most transformative moments happen when you stop feeling like yourself. About a decade ago I went through a complete collapse. I lost my relationship, my home, my sense of identity. And weirdly, once every- thing disappeared, I suddenly felt liberated. I realised I could become anybody. I think queerness also prepares you for that. Queer people are often already existing partially outside systems, performing or passing in different ways depending on the situation. That\u2019s why I\u2019m interested in personas. Not because they\u2019re fake, but because they allow access to different emotional or psychological truths. We\u2019re living through the height of illusion now \u2013 social media has turned identity itself into continuous projection. The challenge is not becoming trapped inside the illusion.<\/p>\n

NM<\/strong> You play with ideas around desire, sexuality and the body in your work. How do you navigate this?<\/p>\n

CS<\/strong> My body has always been my primary subject matter, which is both a blessing and a curse. Growing up gay in the American South during the AIDS crisis meant growing up with enormous repression. Desire and longing became tangled together very early because desire often couldn\u2019t actually be acted upon. So desire itself became fascinating to me. But now I\u2019m in a strange place because I think desire has become boring culturally. Being hot used to feel unusual or transgressive. I\u2019m a little post-hot at this point. I still care deeply about beauty and physicality. The body remains one of the most universal languages we have. But desire itself has shifted. At the same time, we\u2019re living through political collapse while everyone is busy aestheticising themselves online. It\u2019s grotesque. That\u2019s why the major theme in my work now is Eros and Thanatos \u2013 sex and death, creation and decay. I\u2019ve stopped thinking so much about medium and started thinking more about themes and characters. I used to obsess over categorisation \u2013 am I a musician, performer, actor, painter? But ultimately those categories are capitalist structures designed to make people legible and marketable.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"images","gallery":[{"ID":130115,"id":130115,"title":"Casey Spooner 4","filename":"Casey-Spooner-4-.jpg","filesize":102544,"url":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Casey-Spooner-4-.jpg","link":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/de\/article\/as-if-i-am\/casey-spooner-4\/","alt":"","author":"1","description":"","caption":"Jacket MCM\r\nUnderwear PERSONAL PARADE\r\nHalf Pants SIEGENTHALER\r\nSocks FALKE\r\nShoes ROMBAUT\r\nBelt XIAO XU\r\nGlasses AF REFLECT\r\nPainter Belt & Hat STYLISTS OWN","name":"casey-spooner-4","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":130102,"date":"2026-07-21 13:12:51","modified":"2026-07-21 14:03:38","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1536,"height":1920,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Casey-Spooner-4-.jpg","thumbnail-width":77,"thumbnail-height":96,"medium":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Casey-Spooner-4-.jpg","medium-width":1536,"medium-height":1920,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Casey-Spooner-4-.jpg","medium_large-width":1536,"medium_large-height":1920,"large":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Casey-Spooner-4-.jpg","large-width":1536,"large-height":1920,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Casey-Spooner-4--1229x1536.jpg","1536x1536-width":1229,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Casey-Spooner-4-.jpg","2048x2048-width":1536,"2048x2048-height":1920,"trp-custom-language-flag":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Casey-Spooner-4--10x12.jpg","trp-custom-language-flag-width":10,"trp-custom-language-flag-height":12,"wpvr_mobile":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Casey-Spooner-4-.jpg","wpvr_mobile-width":1536,"wpvr_mobile-height":1920}},{"ID":130110,"id":130110,"title":"CAsey 6","filename":"CAsey-6.jpg","filesize":293631,"url":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/CAsey-6.jpg","link":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/de\/article\/as-if-i-am\/casey-6\/","alt":"","author":"1","description":"","caption":"Top & Jackets WILLIAM FAN","name":"casey-6","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":130102,"date":"2026-07-21 13:12:21","modified":"2026-07-21 13:56:40","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1280,"height":1920,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/CAsey-6.jpg","thumbnail-width":64,"thumbnail-height":96,"medium":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/CAsey-6.jpg","medium-width":1280,"medium-height":1920,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/CAsey-6.jpg","medium_large-width":1280,"medium_large-height":1920,"large":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/CAsey-6.jpg","large-width":1280,"large-height":1920,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/CAsey-6-1024x1536.jpg","1536x1536-width":1024,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/CAsey-6.jpg","2048x2048-width":1280,"2048x2048-height":1920,"trp-custom-language-flag":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/CAsey-6-8x12.jpg","trp-custom-language-flag-width":8,"trp-custom-language-flag-height":12,"wpvr_mobile":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/CAsey-6.jpg","wpvr_mobile-width":1280,"wpvr_mobile-height":1920}}],"settings":{"fit_width":"4","caption":""}},{"acf_fc_layout":"blockquote","text":"Often the most transformative moments happen when you stop feeling like yourself. (\u2026) I lost my relationship, my home, my sense of identity. And weirdly, once everything disappeared, I suddenly felt liberated. I realised I could become anybody.","source":"Casey "},{"acf_fc_layout":"text_area","text_area":"

NM<\/strong> Spooner2020 blurred politics, performance and satire. Where did that project come from?<\/p>\n

CS<\/strong> Trump winning in 2016 completely repulsed me. I was genuinely ready to leave America immediately. What fascinated me most was how aesthetically terrible political culture had become. I saw one campaign advert that looked so cheap and grotesque I genuinely thought it was parody. And I started thinking: I could make a better commercial. Then: I could make a better campaign. And eventually: honestly, I could probably make a better president. Not because I\u2019m uniquely qualified, but because at least I have imagination and humanity. So Spooner2020 became this fantasy of a stylish, sexual, international president \u2013 the complete opposite of repression and nationalist conservatism. The real idea was to build a reality television persona and use entertainment itself as a populist political tool. But underneath the satire there was a genuine question: why can\u2019t power also be glamorous, generous, erotic, intelligent? And what does it mean that contemporary politics now operates almost entirely through image construction?<\/p>\n

NM<\/strong> What does Berlin represent to you now and what comes next?<\/p>\n

CS<\/strong> Berlin changed my life very quickly. I came for three days in 2023 and ended up falling in love. Now I\u2019m married, I\u2019m a stepfather, I have an atelier here. It\u2019s honestly the least expected chapter of my life. I\u2019ve always had commitment issues. I like movement, reinvention, seasonal living. I love Berlin in summer, Paris in autumn, Rio in winter, New York in spring. But Berlin still offers artists something incredibly rare now: space. Space to think, to experiment, to fail, to collaborate. Right now I\u2019m continuing the themes of Eros and Thanatos. Most of my projects evolve across multiple forms simultaneously \u2013 music, performance, publishing, fashion, imagery. For the first time, I\u2019m writing music for a choir. And that feels significant because I\u2019m interested now in scale, ritual, collectivity and transformation. I think that\u2019s where the work is moving.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"text_area","text_area":"

As featured in SLEEK #89<\/a> – PLAY<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"text_area","text_area":"

Words by NISHA MERIT <\/a><\/p>\n

Photography by OSKAR OTT <\/a><\/p>\n

Creative Production HANNES AECHTER, JOHANNA ERDL <\/a><\/p>\n

Styling ANA-MARIJA KNEZEVIC<\/a> @LIGANORD <\/a><\/p>\n

Styling Assistants JUSTINE ARNA<\/a>L, LISA KIESLICH <\/a><\/p>\n

Photo Assistant MATTHEW GERGES <\/a><\/p>\n

Hair & Makeup SYDNEY RAAB<\/a><\/p>\n

Hair & Makeup Assistant LARA WILMSEN <\/a><\/p>\n

Set Design HANNAH CUMMINS <\/a><\/p>\n

Set Assistants NINA MARIA DAHMS<\/a>, AMINA ZEROUROU<\/p>\n"}],"sleek_card_focus":"mid"},"yoast_head":"\nAs If I Am As If I Am<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/de\/article\/as-if-i-am\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"de_DE\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"As If I Am As If I Am\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/de\/article\/as-if-i-am\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Sleek Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sleekmag\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-27T10:30:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-07-27T10:55:49+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@sleekmag\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@sleekmag\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Verfasst von\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Nisha Merit\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/\",\"name\":\"Sleek Magazine\",\"description\":\"Sleek is Germany\u2019s leading independent media house\/brand for creativity and innovation located in Berlin the creative capital of the world. This creativity manifests itself in SLEEK\u2019s quarterly print publication, digital and social media channels.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"de\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/article\/as-if-i-am\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/article\/as-if-i-am\/\",\"name\":\"As If I Am As If I Am\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-27T10:30:48+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-07-27T10:55:49+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/#\/schema\/person\/47ece0b7579185e22ba1b10ec78fa9a7\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/article\/as-if-i-am\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"de\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/article\/as-if-i-am\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/article\/as-if-i-am\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"As If I Am\"}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/#\/schema\/person\/47ece0b7579185e22ba1b10ec78fa9a7\",\"name\":\"Nisha Merit\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"de\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/db3852226ef644230fbeff68fa43ac153d36dfe051b6b78544ae02b292d6e123?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/db3852226ef644230fbeff68fa43ac153d36dfe051b6b78544ae02b292d6e123?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Nisha Merit\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/de\/author\/nisha-merit\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"As If I Am As If I Am","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/de\/article\/as-if-i-am\/","og_locale":"de_DE","og_type":"article","og_title":"As If I Am As If I Am","og_url":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/de\/article\/as-if-i-am\/","og_site_name":"Sleek Magazine","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sleekmag\/","article_published_time":"2026-07-27T10:30:48+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-07-27T10:55:49+00:00","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@sleekmag","twitter_site":"@sleekmag","twitter_misc":{"Verfasst von":"Nisha Merit"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/","name":"Schlankes Magazin","description":"Sleek ist Deutschlands f\u00fchrendes unabh\u00e4ngiges Medienhaus\/Marke f\u00fcr Kreativit\u00e4t und Innovation mit Sitz in Berlin, der kreativen Hauptstadt der Welt. Diese Kreativit\u00e4t manifestiert sich in der viertelj\u00e4hrlich erscheinenden Print-Publikation, den digitalen und Social-Media-Kan\u00e4len von SLEEK.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"de"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/article\/as-if-i-am\/#webpage","url":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/article\/as-if-i-am\/","name":"As If I Am As If I Am","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/#website"},"datePublished":"2026-07-27T10:30:48+00:00","dateModified":"2026-07-27T10:55:49+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/#\/schema\/person\/47ece0b7579185e22ba1b10ec78fa9a7"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/article\/as-if-i-am\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"de","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/article\/as-if-i-am\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/article\/as-if-i-am\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"As If I Am"}]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/#\/schema\/person\/47ece0b7579185e22ba1b10ec78fa9a7","name":"Nisha Verdienst","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"de","@id":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/db3852226ef644230fbeff68fa43ac153d36dfe051b6b78544ae02b292d6e123?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/db3852226ef644230fbeff68fa43ac153d36dfe051b6b78544ae02b292d6e123?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Nisha Merit"},"url":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/de\/author\/nisha-merit\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/130102","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/347"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=130102"}],"version-history":[{"count":27,"href":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/130102\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":130336,"href":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/130102\/revisions\/130336"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=130102"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=130102"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=130102"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}