Ssion

Cody Critcheloe is an American director, photographer, visual artist, and musician. He is known for his provocative and visually daring work across music videos and photography. His visual language—often maximalist, deeply referential, and playfully confrontational—draws inspiration from punk graphics, queer iconography, '90s advertising, and experimental art house cinema. Initially gaining recognition through the multimedia project SSION (pronounced shun), Critcheloe has become known for crafting surreal, high concept-driven works characterized by cinematic storytelling, saturated visual aesthetics, and subversive humor. In 2023, Critcheloe earned a Libera nomination for Video of the Year for Yeah Yeah Yeahs's "Spitting Off the Edge of the World". In 2025, he earned a Grammy nomination for Best Album Cover for Perfume Genius's Glory, which he photographed and creative directed. Critcheloe was born and raised in Kentucky. He studied painting at the Kansas City Art Institute, where his early interest in stop-motion animation sparked a broader passion for filmmaking. This tactile, frame-by-frame approach to storytelling would go on to inform his later video work. While still in art school, Critcheloe created the album artwork for the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' Fever to Tell and directed early music videos for Liars and Peaches, as well as a series of animated videos for his own project, SSION. During this time, he also mentored fellow student BloodPop, introducing him to pop songwriting and music production. Critcheloe first gained widespread attention through SSION, a genre-defying musical project. It blended pop hooks and punk attitude, plus some immersive visual storytelling. SSION served as a testing ground for Critcheloe's creative evolution, with each release accompanied by self-directed visuals that pushed the boundaries of music video as a medium. The project's aesthetic—queer, campy, dystopian, and often DIY—cemented Critcheloe's reputation as an innovator in both underground music and visual culture. Critcheloe is celebrated for his hyper-stylized, concept-driven work with artists such as Robyn, Yves Tumor, J-Hope, Katseye, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Perfume Genius, and Kim Petras, as well as fashion powerhouses like Diesel, Versace, and Hood By Air. Whether constructing immersive, world-building narratives or capturing complex identities in a single arresting frame, Critcheloe's output pushes traditional boundaries—provoking, delighting, and redefining the visual language of contemporary culture. 2026 - Katseye, Animal, music video director 2025 – Perfume Genius, "It's a Mirror", music video director 2025 – Perfume Genius, "No Front Teeth" ft. aldous harding, music video director 2025 – J-Hope feat. GloRilla, "Killin' It Girl", music video director, photographer 2025 – Katseye, "Gnarly", music video director 2024 – Katseye, "Touch", music video director 2023 – Yves Tumor, "Heaven Surrounds Us Like a Hood", music video director 2023 – Gossip, Crazy Again, video director 2023 - Diesel, D-Red Fragrance Campaign, director & photographer 2023 - Kim Petras, "Slut Pop Miami," director & photographer 2022 – Yeah Yeah Yeahs featuring Perfume Genius, "Spitting Off the Edge of the World", music video director – nominated for the Libera Award for Video of the Year 2022 – Demi Lovato, "Substance", music video director 2020 – Yves Tumor, "Kerosene", music video director 2020 - Versace "All for You", Holiday Campaign Short, director 2019 – Allie X, "Fresh Laundry", music video director 2019 – Allie X, "Regulars", music video director 2019 – King Princess, "Ohio", music video director 2018 – Robyn, "Between the Lines", music video director 2018 – King Princess, "Prophet", music video director 2015 – Robyn, "Love is Free", music video director 2015 – Lower Dens, "To Die in L.A.", music video director 2015 – Brooke Candy, "Renegade", music video director 2014 – Dum Dum Girls, "Lost Boys and Girls Club", music video director 2014 – Kylie Minogue, "Sexercize", music video director 2014 – Perfume Genius, "Queen", music video director 2015 – Mykki Blanco, "No Leash", music video director 2011 – Santigold, "Big Mouth", music video director 2011 – MNDR, "#1 in Heaven", music video director 2010 – Gossip, Men in Love, music video director 2010 – Peaches, "Billionaire", music video director 2009 – Gossip, Music for Men, infomercial director 2008 – Tilly and the Wall, "Beat Control", music video director 2005 – Liars, "There's Always Room on the Broom", music video director SSION – self-directed music videos 2018 – SSION, "At Least the Sky Is Blue", director 2018 – SSION, "Heaven is My Thing Again", director 2018 – SSION, "Inherit", director 2018 – SSION, "Comeback", director 2013 – SSION, "Luvvbazaar", music video director 2013 – SSION, "High", music video director 2012 – SSION, "Earthquake", music video director 2012 – SSION, "Feel Good (4-Evr)", music video director 2012 – SSION, "Psy-chic", music video director 2012 – SSION, "My Love Grows in the Dark", music video director 2010 – SSION, "Clown", music video director 2009 – SSION, Bullshit, music video director 2008 – SSION, "Ah Ma", music video director 2008 – SSION, "A Wolves Eye", music video director 2008 – SSION, "Credit in the Straight World", music video director 2008 – SSION, "Warm Glove", music video director 2007 – SSION, "ASAP", music video director 2006 – SSION, "Street Jizz", music video director Benjamin, Mark (July 17, 2020). "Interview: SSION, As Big As I Can Dream". RAIN Magazine. Retrieved December 21, 2020. "Cody Critcheloe discusses his new album, O". Artforum. May 7, 2018. Retrieved December 21, 2020. Garcia, Thania; Okusanya, Emanuel (June 16, 2023). "Wet Leg, Sudan Archives and more win big at 2023 A2IM Libera Awards". Variety. Retrieved January 27, 2026. "2026 GRAMMYS Nominations: Best Album Cover Nominees | GRAMMY.com". grammy.com. Retrieved November 17, 2025. Farber, Jim (April 26, 2018). "Ssion, a D.I.Y. Hero of the Technicolor Underground, Returns Refreshed (Published 2018)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved December 21, 2020. "Ssion: Bent". Pitchfork. Retrieved December 22, 2020. KATSEYE (캣츠아이) "Touch" Official MV (Video). July 26, 2024. Archived from the original on July 26, 2024 – via YouTube. Allie X – Fresh Laundry, archived from the original on December 15, 2021, retrieved September 28, 2019 Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: SSION ft. Ariel Pink - 'At Least The Sky Is Blue' [Official Music Video] – via YouTube. Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: SSION – 'Comeback' (Official Music Video) – via YouTube. http://mail.misshapes.com/articles/ssion.html https://www.allmusic.com/artist/p574970/biography http://www.billboard.com/#/search/The%20Ssion http://www.charlottestreet.org/initiatives/visual/recipients/cody-critcheloe/ http://www.anyonegirl.com/art/peres-projects-present-ssion-boy-by-cody-critcheloe/ Ssion discography at Discogs