Showing Up: Madame B's Tarot Readings in Expo Metro

In this solo episode, I step behind the mic to share a personal reflection on creativity, commitment, and the quiet power of simply showing up for the work. Inspired by my own journey — including the creation of Madame B’s Tarot Readingsand its inclusion in the international art project Expo Metro — we explore how showing up, even on uncertain days, opens doors to unexpected opportunities.

One of those doors led to Madame B being included in the Expo Metro Art Tunnel in Barcelona, now on view until June 29th. This public art installation brings together artists from around the world, transforming city spaces into vibrant open-air galleries. You can learn more about the Art Tunnel project here.

Whether you’re an emerging artist, a seasoned creative, or someone wrestling with doubt, this episode is a reminder: showing up matters — and sometimes, it leads you all the way to Barcelona.

🌐Expo Metro: https://expometro.co/ 

🌐Barcelona Art Tunnel: https://expometro.co/en/exhibition/2025-barcelona

🌐Expo Metro Instagram

🎥 Video Podcast Version: YouTube

J-Squared Atelier, LLC
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Transcript

00:00:00:00 - 00:00:26:03
James
What do tarot cards, a Kodak Brownie camera,and an art wall in Barcelona have in common. Well, me actually. Today I'm sharing the story of how my series, Madame B's Tarot Readings ended up halfway across the world as part of Expo Metro. And why showing up for your creativity might just take you places you've never expected. This is Lattes & Art presented by

00:00:26:11 - 00:00:33:23
James
J-Squared Atelier.

00:00:33:26 - 00:00:43:13
James


00:00:43:15 - 00:01:17:07
James
Welcome back to Lattes & Art. I'm your host, James William Moore, artist, curator and slightly overcaffeinated tour guide through creativity, art and everything that lives somewhere in between. Today's episode is just a little bit about what happens when you just keep showing up with your work. If you had told me when I was first handed a Kodak Brownie camera by my mum when I was four years old, that some day my work would be showing up on a giant art wall in Barcelona

00:01:17:10 - 00:02:02:26
James
I probably would have just looked at you and asked for more film. But here we are. Let's start with where this story physically ends up at Barcelona. Through the end of June, the city's metro system is playing host to Expo Metro, a public art installation that's about as far from traditional gallery space as you can get. Instead of pristine white walls and carefully curated lighting, you've got public transportation platforms, crowds, movement, daily life Expo Metro transforms these urban spaces into massive international art galleries, showcasing the work of artists from across the world.

00:02:02:29 - 00:02:34:11
James
This isn't just a traveling show, it's a global statement about how art can and should live in everyday spaces. Thousands of commuters, locals and tourists will pass by these art panels. Some will stop. Some might glance up without really noticing. But all of them are engaging with art outside the boundaries of traditional art institutions. And there on the very first panel of the Barcelona Expo Metro wall.

00:02:34:14 - 00:03:07:09
James
A reading of three tarot cards from Madame B's Tarot reading series, Madame B's Tarot Readings, was born. From my deep fascination with kitsch camp and the beautifully uncomfortable intersection of humor, performance and identity. When I was writing my MFA thesis, I talked about how I embraced the concepts of kitchen camp to give a visual presentation of my skepticism, exposing the irony and artificiality embedded in today's culture.

00:03:07:12 - 00:03:38:02
James
My work questions reality and identity, erasing those divisions between high art and pop culture. This is the space where I feel most creatively alive. A space where pop icons, children's stories, political figures and the trappings of entertainment culture become raw material to poke at deeper questions about who we are, what we believe, and how we represent ourselves to the world.

00:03:38:04 - 00:04:20:27
James
The tarot became the perfect vehicle for this exploration. Tarot itself is theatrical, filled with symbolism, some archetypes, performance, mystery, and interpretation. By inserting myself into these roles, literally costuming, performing, photographing, and constructing each card, I could both honor and satirize the ways we seek answers, assign meaning, and construct identity. I've often said that the act of photographing myself becomes an intentional act of constructed identity, not just self-portraiture, but self performance.

00:04:21:00 - 00:04:52:13
James
And of course, all of this ties back to that first camera, the Kodak Brownie my mom gave me, which sparked not just a love of photography, but a lifelong fascination with its accessibility, its ability to democratize image making, and its power to question rather than simply document reality. One of the central ideas in my creative practice, and in Madame B, is this interplay between sincerity and irony.

00:04:52:15 - 00:05:27:27
James
Camp allows us to take something seriously while also acknowledging its absurdity. Susan Sontag writes and notes on camp. Camp sees everything in quotation marks. It's not a lamp, but a lamp. Not a woman, but a woman. That's exactly what Madame B is. Each card becomes not just the fool or the High Priestess, but a performance of those archetypes a fool, a high priestess.

00:05:27:29 - 00:05:58:02
James
By working in this language of camp. I'm not mocking these identities. I'm engaging in a playful, critical dialog with them, and I'm inviting the viewer to both laugh and reflect. Here's where Expo Metro becomes part of that creative story. Every artist wrestles with doubt, wondering whether their work will resonate, whether it's good enough, or whether anyone even wants to see it.

00:05:58:05 - 00:06:34:14
James
The temptation is always there to wait until the work feels perfect. Finished. Safe. But creativity rarely works that way. My practice involves experimentation and the deliberate testing of technological boundaries between media challenging perceived limitations that might otherwise restrict exploration. Submitting Madame B to X for Metro was another version of that experimentation, throwing the work out into the world to see where it might land.

00:06:34:16 - 00:07:06:00
James
And in this case, it landed in Barcelona multiple times because of my engagement with Expo Metro. Madame B's tarot readings has been seen in Amsterdam, Miami and now twice in Barcelona. The simple act of showing up, of submitting created that opportunity, and that's something I want to remind every artist today. That's listening. You don't have to wait for someone to declare your work worthy.

00:07:06:02 - 00:07:46:26
James
You have to keep making, keep submitting, keep showing up. Sometimes that's the hardest part, but it's where all the possibilities live. I've long been fascinated by the idea of breaking art free from institutions of creating work that's accessible, approachable, and exists outside of gatekeeping systems. Expo Metro embodies the spirit of accessibility. Commuters on their way to work aren't necessarily art patrons, but Expo Metro invites them into the conversation anyway.

00:07:46:28 - 00:08:20:02
James
Art belongs to all of us, and you don't need to know the code to engage it. In a way, it's an extension of what first drew me to photography its inherent democratization. You don't need a royal patron or a gallery contract to create. You just need your camera or your brushes or your pencils or your glass. An idea and the willingness to explore.

00:08:20:04 - 00:08:54:00
James
I wrote that the camera has always been an equalizer. It collapses boundaries between high and low culture, between formal portraiture and everyday snapshots. Expo Metro reminds me that the exhibition of art can also collapse those boundaries. As I sit here today sipping on my iced Americano and thinking about that in these tarot readings, glowing on that wall in Barcelona, I'm struck by how far creativity can travel when we let it.

00:08:54:02 - 00:09:30:13
James
From a brownie camera in childhood to self-portraits channeled through tarot cards to an international art wall halfway around the world, that's the beauty of showing up. That's the unpredictability of art. That's why we keep making art. Thank you for joining me for this special episode of lattes and Art. If you'd like to see Madame B's tarot readings on display at Expo Metro Barcelona, the link will be in the show notes.

00:09:30:16 - 00:09:45:18
James
And as always, stay curious, stay playful, and don't be afraid to take up space with your creativity. Until next time. I'm James William Moore and this has been lattes and Art, presented by J. Square. Italian.