Miss Pussy Ferocious

Drag Queen Tiger Centaur

Glazed Stoneware and Fake Eyelashes
Approx. 20 x 15 x 23 cm

My name is Jonah Strub and I am Toronto based, gay, Jewish artist. My artwork is a visual love letter to the aesthetics of camp, kitsch, musical theatre, Yiddish humour, and drag. My practice centers around the ideas of gender expression and visibility, specifically with my relationship to my own femininity. I use my drag alter ego, Loxanne Creamcheese, the epitome of a Jewish, vivacious, and fruity superstar, to channel the power of my flamboyancy and visually assert it in a way that is impossible to ignore. Being gay goes beyond sexuality and I am working to fill a gap in the conversation that surpasses sex, love, and intimacy by shining a light on the embodied power of a radiant unapologetic existence. My art is also a platform where my Jewishness and gayness do not have to be mutually exclusive facets of my identity. As Susan Sontag once said: “Jews and homosexuals are the outstanding creative minorities in contemporary urban culture. Creative, that is, in the truest sense: they are creators of sensibilities.” By using humour, bright colours, animal prints, and bushels of body hair, I hope to create dialogue around the true meanings of masculinity, femininity, matzo-balls, and outrageous up-dos.

I explore a number of consistent themes in my practice including Jewish grandmothers, animals, self-portraiture, and drag. Firstly, Jewish grandmothers, or “Bubbies”, are what I think of as the perfect embodiment of living camp. These sculptures take direct inspiration from the colourful women I grew up around. My next inspiration comes less from my synagogue and more from nature. I adore ridiculous and flamboyant animals. I often explore animals that have historically been associated with kitsch objects like fluffy dogs and kittens. I also love paying homage to the animal inspirations for our tackiest textiles like leopards, tigers, peacocks, and zebras. My next theme I love playing with is self-portraiture. By superimposing my face on different creatures I am not so subtly alluding to myself as a kitsch object. Lastly, we have to mention the world’s most famous woman Loxanne Creamcheese, my alter ego, a Jewish woman often seen in leopard, who represents a cumulation of all these inspirations. My intention with my art is to project joy and exuberance into the world. I intend to show the people the divine nature of obnoxious patterns and over the top outfits and allow people in to celebrate these aesthetics alongside me. 

I hold a BA in Studio Art from the University of Guelph, specializing in oil painting and sculpture, and discovered ceramics during an exchange in Bremen, Germany in 2019 where I immediately fell in love with the medium. I have participated in the Banff Emerging Artist in Residence Program in 2023 and The Medalta Artist Residency in 2025. I have exhibited across Canada at institutions including The Canadian Clay and Glass Museum, Art Gallery of Burlington, The Artist Project, and The Museum of Jewish Montreal. I also work as a ceramics instructor, sharing my passion with the world.