This body of work crafts an archaeological look into a possible trans utopia. Building a world some centuries into the future from which the objects and fragments of everyday life have been collected through a wormhole in this present. Like Ziggy Stardust transporting from Mars to assist humanity, the totems, rituals and symbols of this ‘Transtopia’ offer hope and connection for the now.

Through 3m tall sculptures in wood and flowing textiles, frottaged echoes of monuments, to tiny pewter and ceramic amulets, this is an interactive installation where audiences can inhabit the scents, tastes, and sounds of this future world.

As trans people, we are often excluded from, or are forced to endure, social rituals which do not feel right or affirm us. This body of work builds back positive rituals to cherish the moments marking change in a trans person’s life: a seed pod from a naming ritual, celebrations of small moments (like the first time using a new pronoun), a vow of witness where friends and family pledge support.

Transtopia engages trans methods of separating the visible surface from fixed meanings or ideas of authenticity – deploying materials in subversive ways to complicate ideas about transgressive bodies, and playing with non-linearity and occlusion to resist voyeuristic scrutiny. It ‘tranifests’ into being possible futures for trans communities.[1]

As a response to the accelerating erosion of trans rights in the UK, these tactile objects and ritual environments offer a healing space to trans audiences and call cisgender audiences into allyship.

Featuring a collaborative soundpiece produced with storyteller Amelia Ace Armande.

[1] Lehner, A. (2020). Trans representations: Non-Binary Visual Theory in Contemporary Photography. Ph.D. Thesis. University of California. Available at:  https://escholarship.org/uc/item/1dv0h8pt (Accessed: 30 October 2024).