MA / Artist Conlon Shia

124000 €

Free to Desire: questions of trans liberation

Taiteellinen työ / siihen pohjautuva työ | Kolmivuotinen

“Free to Desire” is a multidisciplinary project that combines photography, community work, and publishing. My work during these three years will explore building non-normative families, transgender representation, and the role of photography in LGBTQI+ liberation. The idea for the project was born during my experience in Trans-poliklinikka/Finnish Gender Identity Clinic, a place where I often felt robbed of my right to be complicated or nuanced. I also noticed the same lack of nuance in mainstream representations of trans people. Battling with my love for (and the constraints of) photography to do actual work to change people’s daily lives led me to wonder; what is the role of images in our freedom? And what is lacking in images of trans people in the world today? The objective of “Free to Desire” is to show a depiction of trans life in all its nuance and complexity, with all the luxury and leisure that is normally only afforded to portrayals of cisgender people. I hope these projects generate images that fight against the assimilationist images of trans folks in the world today. The main goals of the 3-year project are: 1. Continue my long-term photographic practice and publish my first photobook 2. Three solo shows in: Hippolyte Galleria (February 2023) Photo Center Peri (May 2023) The Library Project Dublin (January 2024) 3. Four group shows: Nuoret Prize in G-Galleria (April 2023) “Dreamy” in Kiasma curated by Max Hannus, with Nan Goldin, Rotimi Fani-Kayode & more (April 2023) “Not Gay” curated by Johnathan D. Katz & Ryan P. Krueger in Marion Art Gallery NY, with Kenneth Anger, Del LaGrace Volcano, Amos Badertscher & more (September 2023) Queer Cohesion in Detroit Stockholm (October 2023).