When Amputation Frees You to Become the Person You Want to Be
Dubbed a “bionic pop artist,” performance artist, pop star, DJ, and model Viktoria Modesta is challenging preconceived notions of being a person living with a disability.
The Road to Freedom
For most of her childhood until late teens, Modesta spent countless days in the hospital, undergoing reconstructive surgeries that aimed to save her left leg, which was injured during birth.
In her late teens, she convinced doctors to amputate her leg below the knee. She finally felt able to move forward with her life, describing the experience as feeling “free to become the person she was aching to be.”
Art Turns Her Life Around
One of the turning points in her life happened in 2014. Modesta collaborated with the Alternative Limb Project to help design a series of prostheses that she wore in a Channel 4 video.
The video was featured during a commercial break of the same year’s “X Factor” finale. The video was called “Prototype,” and it featured Modesta dancing while wearing a prosthesis shaped like a spike. It was a visually arresting, fashion-forward experience.
The video immediately went viral and is considered a touchstone for those looking to recast how society perceives disabilities. To date, “Prototype” has more than 12 million views.
After the video soared to international acclaim, Modesta received numerous offers from managers and agents. However, she realized that—although she loved making music—pop music was not the right path for her.
After turning down the "pop route," Modesta joined the MIT Media Lab in 2015—a program that invites innovators from disparate areas of expertise to collaborate—as a director’s fellow. It was during this time that she met her boyfriend, Benjamin Palmer, whose expertise lay in entertainment marketing.
Living a Life Inspired by Art
Now 30, the avant-garde performance artist, model, singer, and science enthusiast relocated to Los Angeles. For Modesta, the city represents the perfect intersection of her many interests.
In 2018, Modesta made her presence felt in the vibrant city with a performance during Lucha VaVoom’s Halloween spectacular at the Mayan Theatre.
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