J. MORRISON is a Brooklyn-based artist who created the project HOMOCATS to fight phobias, promote equal rights, combat cultural stereotypes, and challenge social norms. We talked with him to get the lowdown on these extremely gay cats.

MERCURY: On our cover this week, we're featuring your art, which depicts cat heads on semi-naked men's bodies. Sooo... what exactly were you thinking?

J MORRISON: The Twin Cats are taken from my zine called Fuck the Internet. They're meant as a social commentary of gay culture, by filtering them through a sea of online torsos. Also, the Twin Cats are besties living in their own rainbow universe.

How did HOMOCATS start?
The HOMOCATS were born during a 2010 art residency at the Anderson Ranch in Colorado. Inspired by early memes like "I Can Has Cheezburger" and "lolcats," the HOMOCATS use the viral phenomenon of the feline to critique mass culture with queer sensibility... and fun and humor. The first zine was called Fight the Power, which we've been fighting ever since. 

Do you have cats? If so, who are they?
HAHA! I can barely take care of my own furry self. Actually, I has many cat connections that I cannot make public!

Your art hurts my eyes... but in a good way. Has your art always been this loud?
It's definitely gotten louder, bolder, and prouder! HOMOCATS are not subtle. They are my way to respond to current events and difficult topics, such as the Orlando massacre. It's 2016 and we're on the verge of our first female president. You gotta "Step Your Pussy Up!"

What do you get out of being an artist who uses their whole body to perform, create, and collaborate with more artists?
HOMOCATS LIVE A POLY LIFESTYLE! ;)

What's next for HOMOCATS?
We are psyched to exhibit at CatConLA later this month!

What's next for you?
Continue fighting the man, the power, and try to make this world a better place!

For more hot HOMOCAT action (and info on J Morrison), go to j-morrison.com.

---

ALSO DON'T MISS...

Image + Text
June's Image + Text art show wraps up with a collaborative zine, made possible by the gallery's creation studio, featured alongside recent work from the Independent Publishing Resource Center's new Image + Text Certificate program, led by A.M. O'Malley. Pigeons Studio and Gallery, 7325 N Alta, closing party Sun June 26, 6 pm, open Sat 10 am-3 pm

Folklore
New paintings by local artist Zach Johnsen depicting the darker side of fairy tales and myths. Hellion Gallery, 19 NW 5th, through July 9

Chris Haberman
Scrapping trash to make treasures, view local artist Chris Haberman's work while supporting one of the most established gay bars in town. Scandals, 1125 SW Stark, through June 30