Stayaway with L.J. Johnson and Utica Queen

Utica Queen, also commonly known as simply Utica after her hometown in Minnesota, is the stage name of Ethan Mundt, a local drag queen within the twin cities.

She was a contestant on season 13 of RuPaul’s Drag Race televised on VH1 and competed until she was eliminated after 12 episodes. Through her presence within the drag community she was asked to create the season finale look for RuPaul’s Drag Race 13th season. Utica decided on a gown after hearing the song Stayaway by Muna. With the gown came a request for a lip synced music video showing off the designed look to be broadcasted during the finale.

With the gown at the center of the performance, director L.J. Johnson from Current Resident and local installation artist Eric Rieger, widely known as Hot Tea, were brought onboard to aid Utica in the making of her video.

“Once I heard the song Stayaway, recorded at Electric Lady Studios by Muna, I had this crystal clear image in my head of being dressed in the night sky. With a beautiful silhouette and a heart at the centre of the piece, those were the elements I wanted to incorporate to embody the story of having your heart tethered to yourself and someone else.” adds Utica.

MN born and raised L.J. Johnson found her love of film within the community of writing. After her time in Los Angeles, CA she decided to come home and sink in her roots while expanding her skillset into the casting and directing fields. After directing some award winning projects she joined forces with Current Resident in 2020. Johnson was the perfect fit for this job due to her expansive work in offbeat worlds that broadcast the quirk and idiosyncrasies of people.

“Utica is such a role model for people who feel like they just don't fit the mold. She is such an individual. She's unapologetically her, and that's freaking inspiring.” notes Johnson.

Beginning the creative process, while Utica was busy building her starry look, Johnson was fast at work preparing her team. Hot Tea was chosen for his known works primarily made with yarn, aerosol-spray, and stencils consisting of non-destructive installations that mostly exist on the street. Built right within the Current Resident Studio, Hot Tea’s installation of red yarn created a perfect silhouette of Utica’s Finale dress, appearing as if Utica was being pulled in every direction. This was an ideal complement to the black and white beginning in the video, fading into the beating red and aqua lighting textures chosen by Johnson.