#oliverpage

Speakers, recording equipment

Transgender community map

People are never complete: they are ever-changing and transitioning to become themselves, however they currently identify. In this work I focus on one specific transition: that of a transgender man. In this piece I demonstrated the struggles and emotions which I have experienced along my journey as a transgender man  thus far, and where I hope to go in the future of my transition. This piece focuses heavily on the mental and physical impacts that being transgender has on the individual, and the way I am working to overcome and manage these problems. This audio and sculptural piece is centered around the concept of breathing, and the emotionally and physically expressive powers it has. The sculptural portion focuses primarily on the physical struggles, while the audio is more expressive of the mental struggles. However they also both intersect, because while the breathing is symbolic of anxiety and the hatred transgender people feel from themselves and others, it also alludes to the pain and breathing difficulty caused by wearing a chest binder. Additionally, while the visual aspect shows the physical transition, as well as the change in mental and emotional state from negative to far more positive as a transgender person goes through their transition. This piece is a medium to express a part of me which has never before had a voice. In doing so, it conveys to cisgender people the way I as a transgender man view and am experiencing transition, and supports other transgender people in their own transitions. The way the audio changes from abstract when it is solely breathing and sounds to delivering a concrete message mirrors the process of transitioning itself as I have and will continue to experience it. It begins in a very unclear and confusing manner, with uncertainty and often an unaccepting environment, but as time goes on I have and will continue to reach greater clarity and acceptance of my own identity.