To mark the International Transgender Day of Visibility on March 31st, Open Eye Gallery are celebrating eight of the many faces of trans individuals living in Merseyside.
This day is dedicated to highlighting the accomplishments of transgender and gender non-conforming people, while raising awareness of the work that still needs to be done to achieve trans justice.
WE was produced in the National Trust’s Hardman House, the only known British example of an intact 20th century photographic studio. At its height in the 1930s and 1940s, the possession of a self portrait taken there signified wealth, social credit and a spot in society.
‘Visibility’ is a heavy word, and we must ask ourselves what effective visibility looks like — in photography and culture — but crucially also in legislation and policy. The question posed to the participants included in WE was: ‘what does the International Trans Day of Visibility mean to you?’.