I spent the final year of my Fine Art Degree immersed in the daily lives of Jason and Andrea, two transgender individuals. My aim was to document and record the everyday they experience as two people from diverse contexts and at varying stages of their lives in transition.
As our relationships developed I began to focus on and begin to deeply comprehend how conceptions of gender and societal roles perpetuate an enacted and performed self. This became a crucial element of the project as I looked at both Jason and Andrea’s clothing as signifiers of ‘skins’, something deeply personal, precious and intimate, and in turn for these items to act as small monuments to their experiences.
Currently, in 2024, transgender and gender politics are discussed frequently, but in 2012 when this work was created, it was to a certain extent still considered taboo to even discuss - I wanted to introduce these individuals in their fullness to the world, to show their beauty, vulnerability and courage.
This project is dedicated to both Jason and Andrea, who were a very willing and engaged part of the final exhibition - their presence at the exhibition was incredibly moving, when they saw their representation, there was a tangible sense of pride and a profound feeling of them being truly seen.
