Ssion

Cody Critcheloe, known by the stage name SSION (pronounced shun), is a multifaceted audiovisual artist embodying music, video directing, painting, and live performance.

[7] On Pitchfork, critic Eric Harvey writes: "Ssion's tendency to weave sympathy and encouragement through the naughty bits-- erasing the boring distinctions between partying, sex, music, and boundless, delirious dreaming-- clearly aligns them with CSS, Scissor Sisters, and Junior Senior, their fellow purveyors of devilishly simple, self-reflexive, and undeniably catchy dance-pop.

"[6] In 2010, Critcheloe moved to New York where he met a new set of collaborators including Mykki Blanco, Colin Self, Shayne Oliver, Raul de Nieves and Nick Weiss of Teengirl Fantasy and performed at Secret Project Robot and GHE20GOTH1K.

The album features cameos from Róisín Murphy, Devendra Banhart, Jennifer Herrema of Royal Trux, Sky Ferreira, Ian Isiah, and Ariel Pink.

[8] Contributing writer Cameron Cook at Pitchfork notes: "In 2018, so many new artists are embracing their queer identities and heritage, but Critcheloe has spent about 20 years honing Ssion's droll, campy, dramatic aesthetic—and that work has paid off in their strongest and most timely album yet.

The film was showcased alongside artwork and installations in tandem with Peres Project in LA and Berlin, The Smart Museum in Chicago, and The Hole Gallery in New York City.

In addition to the artist's own visuals, he included stills from VHS-era source material like David Cronenberg's Crash, Pedro Almodóvar's La Ley Del Deseo, and the American television show Seinfeld.

[15] Author and critic Natasha Stagg writes that Critcheloe's paintings merge abstraction with melodrama and punk rock, blurring the lines between figurative identity and symbolic idolatry.