Dead Name

Conceptual photographs of a transgender man’s journey of discovery from Denial to Acceptance.

Dead Name Show Statement

Dead Name is a 2 part show. One part conceptual photographs of a transgender man’s journey and discovery into becoming a man. One part story about a parent of transgender teens.

The photographic portion of the exhibit is a series of conceptual images. They show the basic stages of what a transgender man thinks and feels during his discovery of true gender and identity. The images were “solarized” using Adobe Lightroom. “Denial” and “Acceptance” are shown side by side to close the circle of stages. The images are printed on metal.

The story entitled “The Death of My Daughters” is a short story about a mothers experience with the coming out of her transgender children. Told in parts, the story points to major milestones in her life that may have prepared her for the journey. Part 5 is disjointed and choppy because it is part of the present and not yet fully realized.

Both photographic artwork and printed story are shown together as each other’s supplement. The story follows the writer’s children Ares and Kat. The photos are of Ares. 

The display of both parts are equally important. The story is its own art piece and takes up an entire wall by magnets, a nod to the metal prints. There is a way to listen to the story with the mp3 player hanging by the story. The story is also printed as a tiny booklet and lays on a hospital bedside table in the center of the room for people to sit and read. The table is covered by a red table runner concealing the looming thoughts of psychiatric hospitalization.  The paper is watermarked cotton paper, a throw back to the 1990’s when the story begins.