The primary outward aspect of my character is my love of make-up -
particularly eyeliner. I have always been interested in dramatic transformation and love to fall into distinct characters. I started sculpting at the age of two. I became fascinated with theater and role playing around the age of four. My urge to be creative hurled me into the realm of the arts and philosophy. I became obsessed with the medium of pen & ink in my early twenties and proceeded to create over one hundred works. After receiving my B.A. in Philosophy from OSU, I entered a multi-media art program which would allow me to combine different aspects of my creative talents in installation and performance. Throughout my education, which has a strong emphasis in German Expressionism and Surrealism, I have mixed my intellectual fixations with my urge to express myself through the artistry of make-up. I finished my M.F.A. with my performance, "An Evening With Damon Zex," a very Peter Sellers-esque piece including audience interaction. My first experience with public access occured during my philosophy days when I made the show "Smoke Rings," a talk show where I played a psychotic cult leader who was interviewed by a conservative, all-American interviewer. The fun thing back then was that one could actually smoke cigarettes in the studio, thus the name "Smoke Rings." My first Damon Zex video, called "Glitznik" was created in 1987, beginning my investigation of hypnotic special effects. I then collaborated with Marshall Barnes on a series of music videos which played on Much Music in Toronto. I began my public access TV series, "Zextalk" in 1992 and continued to produce a series up to 2001. During this time period, I made over 250 programs ranging from acts of pure social attack, parody, surrealism, interviews, comedy, and absolute madness. Beginning in 2001 I left public access and began working on, agonizing over, and finally finishing "Checkmate", a 28 minute nearly silent film, combining chess, one of my early loves, with sex or erotica, a key focus of my life. Most recently I collaborated with video artist James Dinan and created "Kundalini Killer", "The Terrible Truth", and "Asana Assassin", experimental pieces combining my pen & inks, and light wave effects with performance, and in two cases, yoga. If you are interested in viewing a wide range of my characters feel free to go to YouTube and do a Damon Zex search. In addition to video work, designer Dan Repicz and I have created three primary art websites - Checkmatethefilm.com , Zexart.com and Glitznik.com . These three websites represent three primary aspects of my creative nature - performance, visual art, and experimental quasi-scientific investigations in hypnosis. When I am not wrapped up in my own creative quests, I devote my time to yoga, having investigated ashtanga, power, and kundalini for the past six years. However, I am still a weight training fanatic at the gym. My favorite thing to do, though, is dance my ass off until I am thoroughly covered in sweat. Usually, if I end up on the dance floor, I am compelled to shut the place down. Obviously, I have a real night owl component and love any darkly lit nightclub establishment. This lunar fixation probably also led to my love of horror, black clothes, and producing late night television. Yet, I really have no addictions to accompany my night life. Yes, I get high occassionally, like drinking wine, smoke a cigarrette once or twice a day, but in general I try to balance these vices with intense athletics. I don't watch television at all - that vice I eliminated several years ago after being a channel surfing fanatic. I love creating, meditating, clearing my mind, and being a body.
ASANA ASSASSIN
THE TERRIBLE TRUTH
KUNDALINI KILLER
CHECKMATE BONDAGE SEGMENT
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CHECKMATE INTRO
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THE GAME
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