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An interview with Chella Man and MaryV Benoit conducted by Wren Sanders (22, NYC)
Speaking on the phone with Chella Man and MaryV Benoit inspires the paradoxical sensation of at once feeling warm and cozy — as though you are among old friends — and severely intimidated — as though you are in the presence of two wildly famous, radically successful young artists and activists. As with all real paradoxes, the point of confusion is also the point of truth: Chella and MaryV are so influential because of their friendliness, their approachability, their irresistibly adorable dynamic. One watches their videos and, unlike with most Instagram influencers (probably the most reductive term for what it is that Chella and MaryV do) the experience is hardly one of FOMO, but of community. In the following interview, which has been edited for clarity and concision, we hope you learn something new about these prolific figures, and moreover, feel some of that warmth, coziness and inspiration too.
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Wren Sanders: Since you both document so much of your relationship on social media, what would be something your followers would be completely blown away by to learn about either of you?
MaryV Benoit: Something I haven’t really spoken about a lot on my social media is my family —how my family has impacted my school and my queerness and my overall identity. I think that’s something that in time I will definitely talk about more: being a child of divorce, being a biracial female that doesn’t look it, being white passing. There’s a lot of stuff that I haven’t really talked about online that I would like to, because I know there would be other things for people and me to connect on aside from my art or my relationship with Chella.
Chella Man: I’m honestly trying to think about something that I’m not open about, and at this point, there’s nothing. There’s nothing that I’ve kept away from being online, where I try to be as authentic, genuine and open as possible. Doing that hasn’t been easy, but I would say before, the things that I kept to myself were my gender identity, my sexuality.
WS: Beyond just being incredibly influential presences online, you’re both dope artists. I was wondering if you could speak a little bit to the way that you are inspired by each other in terms of not only your relationship, but also each other’s work as artists.
MVB: This is going to sound really cheesy, but I think every morning I wake up and look at Chella, I’m inspired because of his integrity and honesty and how brave he is walking through the world as a person and an artist. I don’t know but it inspires me so much. Through my work and the photos that I make of him and of other people, I want to clearly display their bravery, Chella’s bravery
CM: MaryV is one of the purest people that I know — just so down to earth and all that that phrase means. How she portrays herself online, how she deals with negative feedback, how she handles real issues that are really hard and heavy to deal with in real life. She does it and never bends who she is, or discards any of her identity. I really, really, really respect that, and it definitely inspires me, and of course inspires my work.
WS: How can artists be agents of resistance against this current racist, xenophobic and transphobic administration?
CM: In everything that you do, you can be. Being born into this identity and this body, it’s not like you want to be political or you want to face hate, or you want to speak up about certain issues. But because this is who you are, you are forced to because your entire existence is going against what the normal can be. Of course you’re going to create art about that because art is about passion and what hits you the hardest. That’s exactly where you draw inspiration from as an artist. I don’t set my identity aside and all of those aspects of who I am when I’m creating art, because they are what makes me the most passionate and where I find the most intense things to say.
MVB: I agree with everything that Chella just said. Being an artist myself, in high school I went to art school and I just wanted to make work that I loved and I found beautiful, but right now — I want to make work that is political and challenging for people that don’t understand and want to be hateful. Because I don’t want people to be hateful anymore. I want people to at least, on the most basic level, just be respectful, because that’s what all people deserve. To just be respected in their own identity. I would hope that through my work that happens or that can happen. Even on a small scale by just inspiring one other person.
WS: That’s a beautiful answer, thank you so much. Now for some fun questions. What’s your favorite date that you two have been on?
CM: Favorite date? Oh gosh. I feel like at this point, it isn’t even a date, because we just are with each other all the time. So it’s just always a never-ending hang out date-ish thing.
WS: Then what’s one of your favorite activities you have done together?
C: One time, I really, really wanted to surprise her. So I packed a table, tablecloth, fancy silverware. Our favorite restaurant at the time was this Indian place in Brooklyn. So I got take out there, our favorite, her favorite and my favorite. I had my mom help me. We drove it down to Coney Island and set up the table on the beach with the white tablecloth and all the Indian food and silverware. MaryV thought my mom was just driving us to this restaurant in Brooklyn, but she didn’t know that I already had a whole spread laid out on the beach. I took her out there and it was the perfect day. The sun was going down. It wasn’t too windy. There was no one else there. It was just …
MVB: I was like “What are we doing, walking down to the beach? Oh, we’re going to eat dinner? Oh, we’re going to eat an Indian food dinner?”
CM: I don’t know, like everything went how it was supposed to, which is rare. Most of my plans don’t work out that way. I typically am a horrible planner. But I really wanted it to work the way I planned it. Then I read her this letter that I wrote, basically just in short telling her how much I love her and respect her in every way. Then we ate dinner.
MVB: I think that was one of the best moments of my life. It was incredible.
WS: Honestly, that sounds so, so good. Speaking of dinner, if you could have dinner with anyone, living or dead, who would it be?
CM: I always answer this question that I would have dinner with my Zayde, who passed away from cancer when my mom was 14. I would always love to just talk with him. It’s ridiculous how I’m 25% someone that I have never met. In some fantasy world, I would love to meet with him, and just know more about him and about what being Jewish was like back then.
MVB: I went to Catholic school all the way up until I was in 6th grade. Being in Catholic school and being a kid, anything I was told I just agreed with. I thought that’s just how life was. Period. So my answer to that would definitely be the Virgin Mary. I would ask her what happened—being a femme figure in that time, being an iconic femme figure. I would ask, “How do you feel about being impregnated without even knowing? Do you have a problem with that?”
WS: When was the last time either of you was star struck?
CM: Star struck. By each other? Or by another person?
WS: Hmm, let’s say by another person.
CM: Oh I think that now, it’s crazy to say, but he’s one of my good friends. When I first was FaceTiming with Nyle DiMarco, I was like “whoa” because deaf representation is extremely rare. But it’s weird to say that now, because I do feel like he’s a parental figure to me.
MVB: Samira Wiley. We saw her at a Trevor Project gala. She was with her wife, or girlfriend, I don’t know. I definitely looked up to her in Orange is the New Black. Seeing her, I was just like “Oh my goodness, she’s so beautiful.” I wanted to go up to her and just say hi.
WS: In 10 years, where do you see each other or see yourselves, or where do you hope to be?
C: Ideally, we’re still together. We always talk about the future. At the same time we say we never know what’s going to happen; we don’t want to be dead-set on anything happening and get our hopes up to where we can’t even see them anymore. You just have to be careful with your feelings. But ideally, in a perfect world, we are still together and maybe…
MVB: Maybe one kid.
CM: One kid?
MVB: I’ll be 30 by then.
CM: My mom had me when she was 32.
MVB: Okay. Maybe thinking about a kid, because I really want to be a mom someday.
CM: MaryV has baby fever. Constantly baby fever. I know that I want to adopt a deaf kid in the future, which is why right now, I’m really, really working on my signing and I really am close to being fluent, but I’m not there yet. I know that’s definitely a priority before even thinking about adopting a deaf kid. Maybe we’ll have one.
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