June update - puberty & new prints

Thought I’d post an update on my ongoing project “Puberty” on here!

About the project : 

“Puberty” is an ongoing self-portrait project documenting physical changes and mundane moments during my transition on HRT (hormonal replacement therapy) as a non-binary transgender person. 

In April 2018, I began a medical transition process by taking bi-weekly testosterone treatments. Testosterone generate changes in the body, such as thickening the vocal chords, body hair growth, and redistribution of fat and muscle tissue, as well as changes in emotional regulation. Since increasing my testosterone dosage in January 2019, I have been documenting the changes I am witnessing in both my body and my moods through a daily self-portrait practice. I intend to continue this process daily until January 2020, completing a year of self portraits in my transition process to publish in book form. 

The resulting images are at times staged: studio portraits documenting changes in my body (facial hair, muscle tissue, etc) - and at times candid: setting up a tripod in my home as I go about my daily routines (eating breakfast, doing my dishes, waking up, playing dress up at a friend’s house, doing my testosterone injection). The images created explore the body as a site in constant evolution, and as it exists in-between genders. 

With this project, I want to show [a] trans life outside of the spotlight: depicting day-to-day, human moments. Through these daily scenes, I also look at transition as a slow and at times lonely process in a society where trans lives are marginalized. The resulting images are cinematic, offering the viewer a glimpse into intimate scenes of my life, and creating a primary source document on a trans life in the 21st century. Too often, transgender bodies are depicted through the lenses of cis-gendered artists. As a trans artist, I want to shift that dynamic by turning my lens inward and creating imagery rooted in (self) care. I also want to show that trans people who do not fit neatly within the gender binary exist - we are here, and we are thriving.

I also did an interview (in french) on this project with Vice Quebec to go along with my exhibition for chromatic festival last month: https://www.vice.com/fr_ca/article/gy4543/personne-ne-documente-le-genre-comme-laurence-philomene

& here is a selection of work from the project

I also picked up my new limited edition archival prints from my printer yesterday, you can purchase those in my print store here: https://www.laurencephilomene.com/store

these are museum quality 8x10 prints, edition of 10 each, 100 cad. This is my first time making smaller archival prints like this, I wanted to offer an option that was more affordable than my bigger prints ~

xo

Laurence