Luca Maude Berkley (b. 1994 London, UK) is a multidisciplinary artist and drag king currently working in New Mexico. Their work revolves around imperialism, fantasy, and environmentalism in the contemporary American West. They are also the art editor of Contra Viento, a literary arts magazine publishing work on rangelands of the world. 

“My work is centered around a critical analysis of agriculture in the American West, focusing on ranching, cowboy culture, and environmental degradation/restoration. For this, my artistic practice hinges on performance: drag performance; the performance of photographing the West; gendered labor performances; and the performance of self that the West demands of its cowboy and would-be cowboy denizens. My three drag characters – Jack Lope, Jenn Deere, and Piper Pelligrini – critique, mimic, and ridicule the sociocultural mores of the American ranching West through live performance, social media, and online remix culture. Building off of multiple years spent working on cowboy ranches, I struggle to reconcile my own love for ranch work and cowboy culture with the exploitative, environmentally destructive realities that even the most regenerative agricultural efforts can’t escape. Class, gender, and whiteness all contribute to the perpetuation of regressive American pastoral fantasies, and the lure of the cowboy is no exception. Regardless of gender or sexuality, white cowboys remain mascots for the American Empire: upholding its virtues, spreading its religion and culture, and presenting a beguiling mask for its genocidal, imperialist capitalism.”