Soft, Touch, Feel, F***: Aubrie Costello
Written by: Jessie Falasco
What do pleasure, sex, and silk graffiti have in common? Creative director Aubrie Costello sits down with us to divulge the secret world of sensual touch, gender expression, and collective healing that she explores in her multimedia platform titled the Erotic Project.
Aubrie Costello considers herself a fly on the wall when watching people reflect on her artwork. “The most fruitful moments are the ones I see from the corner.” As creative director of The Erotic Project, Costello communicates her vision through artful exploration of inclusive and accessible eroticism as self-care for our collective healing.
Formerly a 2D visual artist, Costello created the Erotic Project to respond to quarantine, increase time to prioritize pleasure and offer her audience an experience in these uncomfortable shared realities. Creating space and making sense of the world drew something from Costello since she was a child. Art was her way of expressing frustration, confusion, and love that otherwise would have stayed cooped up inside her. She grew up coming to the city from New Jersey as a young teenager to be more expressive, look at street style, and go to concerts. Attending Moore College of Art & Design for fashion and quickly switching to visual arts, Costello looked for a way to provide people the space to explore their identities. Shortly after graduating, she started an all-female art collective with three more-established women who became her mentors. Trained as a studio artist, Costello created large-scale installations and delicate drawings requiring hours on end spent in her workroom. “I’d be in my studio with the windows open, hearing the street below, wishing I was out there,” remarked Costello as she reminisced about the atmosphere of her old studio.
Throughout this transition, Costello discovered her ability to tell powerful stories on the streets. The idea of silk graffiti bloomed from the many questions dwelling in her mind, “How can I create work outside the studio that is 100% accessible? How can I make work that I can fold up and carry with me everywhere in my bag? How can I make resonating work with less, work that is less cumbersome & way more streamlined and minimal?” This art practice ranges from pieces that are 1 foot square to ones that are large installations. She rips silk apart and creates graffiti-style words by pinning and sewing on a larger fabric. Costello approaches silk graffiti intuitively, with no measuring necessary. She creates head-turning pieces using only scissors, fabric, sewing needles, and her own two hands and eyes from start to finish. Costello cemented her creative career in Philadelphia because “I felt comfortable in those spaces, and I’ve continued to invest because it’s given me space and accessibility to express my work. People here have given a lot of reciprocation and provided mutual care.” Costello’s projects and silk graffiti work have been displayed at Philadelphia Airport, screened at the W Hotel, used in advertisement campaigns with ESSKA Shoes UK, and featured on Season 2 of SMILF, a Showtime television series.
Having a home for her creative career has allowed collaboration and expansion between other cities. Costello began her collaborative efforts by reaching out to creatives she already knew and admired through her network of friends and peers. She expressed her vision to musicians, painters, DJs, performance artists, and many more to first create the Erotic Project. “They graciously did it for free, trusted me, and liked the concept enough to do things for no money since no one was making any money. They believed in the content and the experience.”
In growing the project during the past three years, Costello collaborated with over 40 artists nationwide, such as poet and spoken word artist Ursula Rucker. “I have always tried to be very mindful of their space and identity, and I don’t take it lightly that people have taken the time to work with me. As the project has grown, I would have never thought that people of that magnitude would have worked with me,” Costello stated. Philadelphia musician and dancer Kingsley Ibeneche, Los Angeles poet and DJ Mia Moretti, Puerto Rican poet Raquel Salas Rivera, and Mexico City designer Lou Badger are a few collaborators with Costello’s project. The authentic trust built between collaborators drives Costello to continue her art.
As a creative director, Costello has a natural ability to curate and connect people. Her intuitive eye allows her to find creatives whose work perfectly complements each other in unexpected ways. “The Erotic Project reflects more of what we desire as people who have gone through trauma and are going through a reckoning to create a transformation. It’s not just the exploration of sexual erotic but also a space to unpack and push what eroticism means.” The Erotic Project released short films exploring touch and relationships, a gender-neutral clothing line featuring upcycled garments embellished with Costello’s graffiti, and intimate photoshoots of subjects in their environment. Costello uses notable words such as soft, touch, feel, and f*** throughout all mediums of her project to connect them at a deeper level and make easily recognizable work.
Costello wishes to continue this project and expand its depth. “The future is incorporating even more components to open and grow our community: literary pieces, films, podcasts, and exhibitions. I wish to continue the role as creative director and producer to carry on with showing portraits of collaborators and honor their roles and careers.” Costello’s dream is for the Erotic Project to become a recognizable space where people are encouraged to feel and pay close attention to the delicacy of eroticism. “As long as I can marry that vision with the pragmatic side, such as funding, the project will be able to sustain itself.” Securing funding through loans and grants has been difficult for Costello because companies are hesitant to support work that dances the line between sex work and pornography. “I’m hoping my work can help normalize/uplift sexual eroticism and expression in all its many forms and educate and inspire folks through the thorough dive into other definitions and forms of eroticism beyond the sexual.” This funding will reimburse artists for the work they contribute to the project.
In a society that stigmatizes sex and pleasure, Costello is breaking barriers with her work to create a safe space for people to feel and heal. “We are immersed in trauma. The only way out is through. To get free, we must go in. Eroticism is curiosity and openness at its core. In a way, it’s a playfulness practice that may even bring us closer to our younger selves before the world got a hold of us.”
*Aubrie Costello is actively funding the Erotic Project at ifundwomen.com until January 2, 2023, and just launched a Patreon. If you feel moved by her work, please consider donating or subscribing for exclusive access.
