Behind Perfume Genius’ Subversive ‘Queen’ Video: Exclusive Photos
In the SSION-directed video for his new song "Queen," Perfume Genius' Mike Hadreas takes batting practice in a computer lab, meets a one-legged Elvis impersonator in a men's room and treats a boardroom table like a fashion runway. These scenes cast Hadreas and his co-star "as a kind of alternative universe Forrest Gump and Jenny, except with fluid genders and ever shifting identities," according to his reps. Hadrea says the clip is a way to take on the "gay panic" he sometimes sees in the "faces of blank fear" he passes on the street: "If these fucking people want to give me some power — if they see me as some sea witch with penis tentacles that are always prodding and poking and seeking to convert the muggles — well, here she comes."
As much action as there was in front of the camera, there was nearly as much behind it, and after production wrapped, Hadreas captioned a few choice photos documenting the shoot: "The was the first scene we shot. Fans were blasting on me, which caused tears to well up in my eyes. I went with it."
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"Lyrics for Erica so we can channel each other through the mirror."
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"This monitor left a mark on my hip from lugging it around take after take when we destroyed the computer lab. The bodysuit I'm wearing left perfectly symmetrical bruises all over my torso that I noticed the next day."
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"I almost fell asleep in this rubble."
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"Hand-on-hipping it. There were some more tender and triumphant scenes with Erica and I that we left out to keep things odd and unsettling."
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"Had to take this call."
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"Free Bird"
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"I did a lot of hand-on-hip throughout."
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"With the director of photography and editor, Christopher Good, and my double, who I shared a first name with as well."
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"Eye contact is very important during an interview or when you are taking over the fucking place."
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"I tried to harass them all equally but may have defiantly focused on a few in particular."
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"The only day of the shoot I wasn't present for. Cody [Critcheloe] texted me this picture and I responded in all exclamation marks. Was another in a series of insane elements that worked out perfectly."
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"The make-up artist Sam Bernstein's pet rat. This was the last scene we shot, and all were exhausted. He was passed around as a sort of group therapy, and it really did the trick. "
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"Giant shrimp fabricated by Mary Nichols."