My practice explores the self-authenticity and humanity of the transgender experience, emphasising empathy and radical self-acceptance. In part, the work is a response to the erosion of transgender rights in the UK and US due to right-wing, culture war rhetoric, and lack of rights elsewhere in the world. Equally, the work is an expression of the joy found within queer identities. I hope to show people that they have the power to deconstruct the labels that society places on them and reconstruct themselves as they see fit. 

I use drawing and collage as my main mediums. Realism demonstrates the time, care and attention to detail being  poured into an act of creation, the creation and representation of a transgender body. My drawings, entitled ‘Earth Angels’, lean into otherness, however, rather than othering negatively, as is so common with queerness, they are othered positively, an elevation of alienation. 

My collages are made up of personal belongings and old family photographs, portraying the dreamlike momentum of recollection and memory. They are portraits without faces, challenging stereotypical ideas about ‘what makes up a man’, a reminder that we are all more alike than unalike and should unite to fight common struggles rather than tear one another down for our differences. The facelessness of the old family photos permits a relatability as a viewer can place themselves within the images; my memories become theirs and we can share a life even if only for a moment. The personal belongings are non-commodified objects collected and curated over a life-time, each holding sentimental value and ties to community, a rejection of capitalistic, consumer driven identity.