Sequinette Jaynesfield, often referred to simply as Sequinette, is an American female-to-female

drag performer Drag is a performance of exaggerated femininity, masculinity, or other forms of gender expression, usually for entertainment purposes. Drag usually involves cross-dressing. A drag queen is someone (usually male) who performs femininely and a drag ...

and

avant-garde In the arts and literature, the term ''avant-garde'' ( meaning or ) identifies an experimental genre or work of art, and the artist who created it, which usually is aesthetically innovative, whilst initially being ideologically unacceptable ...

filmmaker Filmmaking or film production is the process by which a Film, motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, beginning with an initial story, idea, or commission. Production then continues through screen ...

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. She also works as a make-up artist and stylist for herself and other performers. She is the founder of the Coney Island Sweetheart Pet Pageant, an alternative

beauty pageant A beauty pageant is a competition in which the contestants are judged and ranked based on various physical and mental attributes. Per its name, beauty pageants traditionally focus on judging the contestants' physical attractiveness, sometimes sol ...

for pets that raises funds for various

animal welfare Animal welfare is the quality of life and overall well-being of animals. Formal standards of animal welfare vary between contexts, but are debated mostly by animal welfare groups, legislators, and academics. Animal welfare science uses measures ...

charities A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good). The legal definition of a cha ...

Career

In 2009, Sequinette starred in

Michelle Handelman Michelle Handelman (born August 5, 1960) is an American contemporary artist, filmmaker, and writer who works with live performance, multiscreen installation, photography and sound. Coming up through the years of the AIDS crisis and Culture War ...

's 2011

video installation Video installation is a contemporary art form that combines video technology with installation art, making use of all aspects of the surrounding environment to affect the audience. Tracing its origins to the birth of video art in the 1970s, it has ...

, ''Dorian, a cinematic perfume'', alongside

Armen Ra Armen Ra is an Iranian-Armenian artist, self-taught thereminist, production designer, director, and performer. Musical career Career (2010-2013) Ra began studying the theremin 2001, debuting with the orchestral group Antony & the Johnsons in N ...

, playing the titular character. In 2011, Sequinette starred in ''Unleashed by Garo'', a

reality television series Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring ordinary people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 1990s ...

with Garo Sparo on

Sundance Channel Sundance Channel can refer to: * Sundance TV, formerly known as Sundance Channel (United States). * Sundance Channel (Canada) * Sundance Channel (Netherlands) * Sundance Channel (Europe) Sundance Channel can refer to: * Sundance TV Sundance TV ...

, in which she portrayed herself Sequinette later expanded into analog filmmaking working with 16mm and

super 8 film Super 8 mm film is a motion-picture film format released in 1965 by Eastman Kodak as an improvement over the older "Double" or "Regular" 8 mm home movie format. The formal name for Super 8 is 8-mm Type S, distinguishing it from the ...

, processing film herself in many cases, and hand-painting directly onto the negative. She has created several short films, including ''Queen Down'' (co-directed with NYC artist Heather Acs), ''Rack Focus'', ''Cello Screen Test'', ''Lifestyles of the Bitchin' Famous'', ''Good Queen'', and ''Broken: Battle of the Goddesses''. Her films have screened in New York, San Francisco, and Austin. In 2020, Squinette earned a

Master of Fine Arts A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.) is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts admi ...

from the

San Francisco Art Institute San Francisco Art Institute (SFAI) was a Private college, private art school, college of contemporary art in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1871, SFAI was one of the oldest art schools in the United States and the oldest west of the Mis ...

. Later that year, her film ''Good Queen'' was selected to feature in a video art projection in Times Square as part of San Francisco Art Institute's 150th anniversary celebration.

Awards and nominations

In 2008, Sequinette competed in and won the eighth annual ''Miss Lez Pageant'' at the Zipper Factory in Manhattan. In 2012, she was crowned Miss Drag Coney Island.

References

External links

Selected scenes from "Dorian, a cinematic perfume"
{{Authority control Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Musicians from Brooklyn American female models American make-up artists 21st-century American women