Transsexual Time: An exploration of the power of language and personal archives in the face of oppression

Hakemuksen tiivistelmä

WHAT? Transsexual Time is a multidisciplinary project that combines photography, writing, community engagement, and sculpture. The series derives from several art fields to explore the topics of queer time, trans representation, and the role of dreaming in creating futures for LGBTQI+ people. In Transsexual Time, I will examine these themes by critically examining how history has tried to suppress the legacies of marginalized people, and how we have fought against this erasure by utilizing the power of language within our communities. The aim of the project is to create four works with different end goals: - A sculpture show with Minjee Hwang Kim in Titanik Gallery - Photographic works for a group show in The Kirpilä Art Collection - A solo photography show and a book launch at Hippolyte Gallery - A new essay in my series, Trans Time, to be published in my forthcoming book WHY? "We are not going to move into the future until we create that future with language." – Terence McKenna Growing up we are all sold a version of history, we are told that it is unwavering, honest, the truth. But what happens when you come to understand that "history" is a biased account, narrated by colonial, patriarchal powers? And what if, in the case of the queer and especially trans community, history has left you out all together? What does that do for your future? In Transsexual Time I will use my practice as a tool to work against this suppression. I will use the power of language and image to fill the gaps in our histories, which have been devastated by omissions. I want to create the representation the LGBTQI+ community is missing in the world; by creating images made by, with, and for the queer community. I want to write our possible futures into existence, so we can arrive to meet them.