Courtesy Bunnyphonic's costume and music went from parody to art form.

WHO: Bunnyphonic, aka Michelle Valdez, 33

MEDIA: Performance art, installation

BEST KNOWN FOR: Playing melancholy airs on an accordion while wearing a rabbit costume. Valdez prefers special events and art happenings to “walking around looking at art,” she said; performing “brings everything to life.” For exhibits, she creates environments for the bunny in the form of sculptural installations, which usually include a recorded soundtrack of birdcalls and other sounds. In her work, she often explores human emotions, such as longing and Schadenfreude (taking joy in another's misfortune).

BACKGROUND: After earning her journalism degree at the University of Texas, Valdez lived in San Francisco, hanging out in the experimental music scene. She decided to parody “bands that couldn't really play their instruments very well but had these elaborate costumes.” So she customized a thrift-store rabbit suit and learned to play the accordion. “I thought it would be fun, and (people)  kind of took me seriously, so I kept going,” she said. Underneath her bunny exterior, Valdez is soft-spoken and unassuming. “That is kind of why I wear costumes because I have this conflict, which is pay attention to me, but don't look at me,” she said.

INFLUENCES: Joseph Bueys, Marina Abramovich

CURRENTLY: In “Dead Reckoning,” Valdez explores identity as it changes form over time, based on the paradox of the Ship of Theseus — if an object gradually has each of its parts replaced, is it still the same object? The exhibit includes silhouettes of ships on the ceiling and a lightbox made of felt and thread.

CHECK HER OUT: “Dead Reckoning” opens at Sala Diaz, 517 Stieren St., from 7 to 11 p.m. Friday, Nov. 16. Bunnyphonic will perform around 10 p.m. The exhibit runs through Dec. 30. Call (210) 852-4492. Search for “Bunnyphonic” on YouTube to see some of her past performances. Valdez also writes for the art blog Emvergeoning (emvergeoning.com) and for the Texas art journals Art Lies and Glass Tire.

Jessica Belasco | 210SA Contributor