Hi! I have some work on display as part of “New Visions” at Fotografiska Museum NY in collaboration with Vice - the exhibit is open from March 13 to June 28 in New York. Link here for more info : https://www.fotografiska.com/nyc/exhibition/new-visions/

You can read an article about the exhibition written by Elizabeth Renstrom on Vice here : https://www.vice.com/en_ca/article/wxeb5q/new-visions-fotografiska-photo-show

I also have some work in an online exhibition + sale that opens on Artsy today, you can view + purchase the work here : https://www.artsy.net/show/undercurrent-projects-us-curated-by-savannah-spirit

I also recently did an interview on my creative process with Refinery29 x VSCO, you can read the piece here : https://www.refinery29.com/en-ca/how-to-get-inspired-vsco-photo-app

& here’s some visuals I made for the piece:

xo

Laurence

It was just announced that I will take part in the 2019-2020 mentorship class organized by Women Photograph. I will use this mentorship program as a way to deepen and develop my skills and knowledge when it comes to long-form documentary photography, and shorter-term photojournalism. 

You can read more about the class & the program here : https://www.womenphotograph.com/mentorship-2019

I am so humbled & excited to be a part of this year’s Women Photograph mentorship class alongside all these amazing women & non-binary photographers. Very thankful to women photograph for all the work they do to uplift our work, it’s truly been a blessing to be a part of this community.

More updates on my ongoing projects coming soon ~

xo

Laurence

A quick note to say : 

I am so happy & proud to announce that I am the recipient of this year’s emerging artist scholarship from Lucie Foundation!!!!

As part of this scholarship program I will be continuing to shoot my daily self portrait project “puberty”, documenting my experiences with HRT and I will be curating a book out of the final images once the project is finished in January 2020.

You can see all the winners here: http://www.luciefoundation.org/programs/scholarship/

xo

Laurence

Writing this live from the july heatwave ~ 

Last month, I got the chance to spend a week in Cannes where I was invited to present my work and speak about shifting norms of masculinity + trans inclusivity as part of @cannes_lions with @adolescentcontent. I’ve been really enjoying giving more talks, workshops & being on judging panels this past year, looking forward to more of this!!!

I also had the chance to be a judge on Getty Images’ 2019 creative grant program “where we stand”, awarding 20,000$ in prizes to emerging LGBTQ+ photographers, and the winners have been announced here : http://press.gettyimages.com/getty-images-awards-20000-lgbtq-stories-creative-bursary-to-three-emerging-photographers-as-part-of-broader-effort-to-encourage-diverse-inclusive-storytelling/

I got to photograph one of the winners, Myles Loftin, while we were in Cannes :

& also shot a quick “me vs others” image while I was in Cannes - I’ve been working on my monograph of Me vs Others in collaboration with Editions Lemaitre in Paris for almost two years now and the book is finally ready, I will post on here when pre-orders are available!

Aside from my time in Cannes, I’ve spent the last month continuing to work on my ongoing project “puberty”, documenting daily/mundane moments in my transition and sharing them on social media. Below are a few of my favorites from this month

& continuing to shoot my project “Lucky” as well, which is a long-form documentary project on my best friend Lucky - looking at a working class, intersex, latinx transmasculine life over a period of 10 years.

As of this month, I will be sharing these updates in a monthly newsletter, which you can sign up for here!

xo

Laurence

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