Meet Hobo Haus | MultiMedia Artist, Game Artist, Drag Performer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Hobo Haus and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Hobo Haus, what do you want people to remember about you?
I see art as a way to clear out the negative emotions in my life, a way to reinterpret the past and move forward. Art has always been a compulsion ever since I was a very little kid dealing with life events and coping with emotions, and as I grew the meaning behind what and why I drew certain things came to light. I not only want to create and be remembered for a world that is full of amazing creatures, characters, and designs, but for the reason in which why it exists in the first place and the journey I am going on by creating art. Through quarantine, I was diagnosed with dissociation with parts, meaning that my mind is fragmented into different ‘alters’. Throughout our separate lives, separated by amnesia barriers, we all created our own worlds and stories – forgotten by other alters as they fronted and worked on their own. When we realized what was happening and sought therapy, we immediately embraced trying to work together to become more functional as a single human being. Though there were many ways we tried doing this, what we truly want to be remembered for is the way we did this with our artwork. Art is immensely important to all of us. By bridging our stories together, seeing common motifs and landmarks, story elements, visuals, etc… we not only grew closer but understood each other better. Our focus has shifted from telling one story to weaving each alters together to achieve the following; 1. Each alter is valid and deserves to exist. We will support them as they support the rest of the system. 2. Grow closer together as a system, bridge amnesia barriers and/or simply make communication between us easier. 3. Show that having dissociation with parts (D.I.D. OSDD, etc…) is not what is portrayed in Hollywood 4. Show how art can help heal and help people grow from their past What I want is to show our mind to the world, and hopefully have it be accepted. I want to be remembered for this journey, the visuals that it created, as well as hopefully shining a positive light on a misunderstood disorder.Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
During the day we work as a cinematic artist and previsualization artist at a Gearbox Software and we really enjoy our work a lot as we get to watch people play through our work after we complete it. It’s fun to see the general public react and interact with something you helped work on. We are really blessed to be in the industry and be able to work and stay focused as having dissociation makes it extremely difficult for us to tell time, experience time, or remember things. It has been something that we work on very hard as a system with planners, calendars and alarms on our phones. Having better communication between all alters is essential as well in case someone ‘fronts’, meaning they are conscious and able to control the body while others are ‘inside’ or unable to remember and/or unable control the body, and might not possibly remember an event that was planned or when something is due. Dissociation is much more complex than what I am able to get into and it also varies from person to person greatly. It is also not solely what we focus on as a creator. We are an artist and content creator first, not a source of education or information on the topic as we are quite literally learning about it ourselves and don’t want to spread misinformation. As far as our personal work, what we are most proud of is our most recent content. Making videos on Youtube, bookbinding, painting for Instagram – based on self-acceptance. Personally, I want to show the world that I exist – that there can be things in the past that hurt and maybe that’s something that can’t be changed, but at the very least maybe something can grow out of it. I want the world to see this magical world and connect with it in some way. I want the world to see the alters themselves and see how much we care for each other and see what system responsibility and self-love looks like for dissociation – the that we are not a horror movie trope but just a healing individual. “The Tale of Charlie-Jack” is our first alter video we made that connects our fantasy stories, the real world, and how we support each other as a system. Most of it is a metaphor or is symbolic, but seeing the visual of taking a child from an isolated and dark place and seeing him, in the end, sleeping contently with a found family was a visual we didn’t even know we needed until we saw it.Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I probably would take them to Nerdvana, a video game themed coffee shop. I’d also take them around downtown Denton in the evening for all the art and performances by drag performers in the area. Sue Ellen’s in Dallas also features drag performances that I’d love to bring a friend to as well (after COVID of course). My favorite spots in the area are the forest preserves. Arbor Hills is my favorite place to walk on the weekends because of all the different trails – both wooded and open areas. It brings back a feeling of calm and is a lovely return to nature to destress,Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
There have been many people who have supported us and mental health in general. Most of our support is through the internet these days with quarantine, but it is strong support regardless. Team Stream Queens, a group of drag queens/kings/monsters/and more, on Twitch have been an immense source of support and during their Convention, hosted by Twitch, in December held panels for trans support, mental health, and disabilities. We were a part of those panels are were honored to not only listen and get insight on others’ stories but share a bit of ours as well. Dale Cruse, a former employee of Twitch, had held meetings in which members of Twitch staff would meet Twitch streamers and talk about their mental health, disabilities, disorders, etc… and how it affected them on Twitch and how Twitch can be more supportive of creators. Arthremis on Twitch is another streamer who has invited me to be on a panel Jan.30th to talk about LGBTQ+ experiences as well as other marginalized creators including but not limited to disorders, disabilities, chronic illness, etc… Most of the people we surrounded ourselves with during these times have a focus on positivity, education, sharing experiences, as well as entertainment and mirth. As far as creators and content featuring dissociation with parts; Multiplicity and Me and Entropy System are Youtubers that I have watched in the past and still occasion for validation and positivity.

Website: http://hobo-haus.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hobohaus/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/HoboHaus

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClrceanINNEUQWPWKo375SA

Other: https://www.twitch.tv/hobohaus