Mortal Man
Paper: Gampi, Somerset, Stonehenge, and Arches in Cream (proofs) and White (edition).
Ink colors: lilac and pink gradient, cobalt blue, black, red, lavender purple, & brown.
Methods used: Hardground & Aquatint. Drypoint and unique “painting” technique on copper matrices.
Printing method(s): Intaglio inking. Paper Lithography on top of Chine Collé.
2022
A trans man lies shirtless only wearing a jacket, he looks down with care as a hand caresses his scarred torso. While enduring the lengthy waitlists, psychological assessments, and insurance denial to pursue surgery, I made this piece about the transformation and mortality of being a trans man. The 3-year mark approaches as I still await a top surgery date. Death is associated with masculinity, in contrast to the life-giving and self-preserving feminine. Was it male violence towards a woman that killed the old me to become the man I am today?
Do not fear death, remember you do not show fear.
I write down my transformation on flesh, it tells the story of life.
Sacrificed the old me, cut it off with an axe.
Do not wait for the shell to crack.
Run your hands over your chest and feel for any holes.
Reach inside yourself, grab that thing growing inside you, and set it free.
Don’t pay attention to time, in a world where time is money, don’t let your attention be bought.
I am listening to the trees and birds.
Do not fear death, remember you do not show fear.
I write down my transformation on flesh, it tells the story of life.
Sacrificed the old me, cut it off with an axe.
Do not wait for the shell to crack.
Run your hands over your chest and feel for any holes.
Reach inside yourself, grab that thing growing inside you, and set it free.
Don’t pay attention to time, in a world where time is money, don’t let your attention be bought.
I am listening to the trees and birds.
