Puberty is an ongoing colourful autobiographical self-portrait project that looks at the intimate and vital process of caring for oneself as a non-binary transgender person undergoing hormonal replacement therapy (HRT), and celebrates transition as a space for exploration without a fixed end goal.

Since January 2019, I have been documenting the changes testosterone generates in my body and moods through daily photographs. The resulting images are simultaneously staged and candid, created by setting up a tripod in my home as I go about my routines.

Set in highly-saturated domestic spaces, these photographs look at minute details of transition which are seldom represented and given access to. This body of work currently exists largely online. It is set to be released as a monograph through Yoffy Press in 2021.

Growing up, the only access I had to queer history was through photography books I borrowed at the library. In lieu of institutional recognition, a lot of our history as marginalized folks is passed down through self-documentation as a means of reclaiming our narrative, which is something that’s always been fascinating to me. I think of the freedom to create our own story as an integral part of embodying queerness.

Puberty  takes root in the tradition of diaristic autobiographical photography - namely Nan Goldin’s classic Ballad of Sexual Dependency, as well as the works of photographers such as Texas Isaiah, Hobbes Ginsberg, and all my trans siblings reclaiming our narratives.

While this project began prior to the current pandemic, Puberty revolves largely around domesticity and home-making, themes that have resonated more intensely around the world as we collectively navigate through various stages of social isolation. By offering a glimpse into these moments in my life, I want to create a multi-faceted, in-depth primary source document of a trans experience in North America during this pandemic.