Fossum, Charlene (1971-)
Dates
- Existence: 1971-
Biography
Born and raised in suburban Philadelphia, Charlene Fossum became interested in the goth subculture as a fan of the British new wave and synthesizer based music in the 1980s as an avid watcher of MTV. She later became interested in Japanese culture and comics in the late 1980s as well. Fossum attended the School of Visual Arts from 1990 to 1994, earning a BFA in illustration, married in 1996 and came to reside in Brooklyn where she works on various personal projects of embroidered textile art and pointillism illustration.
In 2025, Fossum described her personal experience as a member of the goth subculture: "I possessed unassailable cool in some quarters and utter derision in others as an African American participant of the subculture, dressing in a gothic/ post punk style. I subverted twice, in a way, against the mainstream of both Black and white cultural norms. My collection of periodicals and books grew in real time as a contemporary fan of music and culture and a bit later sought out and purchased as a curiosity to look back, learn more, to consider just why that dark culture was so appealing to me. It still informs my life and aesthetic choices to the present day even as my day to day clothes are far less extravagant."