Trans models move into spotlight for powerful exhibition
‘YOU BROUGHT YOUR OWN LIGHT’ AT CENTRAL LIBRARY
JONI Grace Indolent was attacked from behind in June.
Her attacker didn’t say anything, so she doesn’t know if the incident, on Oxford Road in Manchester, was transphobic.
Sadly it could have been – earlier this year, LGBT charity Stonewall revealed more than a third of trans people had been subject to hate crime in a year. It’s a community forced by prejudice to spend years in the shadows. But Joni, and other models taking part in a Manchester exhibition, are refusing to hide.
You Brought Your Own Light is the first exhibition in Manchester to only feature trans models, as well as one non-binary model.
It is currently being displayed at Manchester Central Library.
It aims to raise the visibility of these women, showing them as their true selves. Joni, an illustrator from Fallowfield, said having her photograph taken for the exhibition was a ‘massive step.’
“I generally dress as androgynous for safety and security for my family and children,” she said. “To put myself out as completely female, it was a massive step out of my comfort zone but an incredibly positive experience.”
All of the images were taken by photographer Allie Smith, whose work has previously been displayed at The Getty Gallery in London and shortlisted for the Portrait of Britain. The photographs were captured in the dining room Allie transformed into a studio at her home on Daresbury Road in Chorlton, and all feature models local to the area.
Allie, 50, began working with the transgender community due to her interests in femininity and transitioning.
Her first model was a transgender DJ, and through her connections she gained the trust of other transgender women.
Soon Allie found she was not searching for women to take part in the series – trans people were coming to her asking to take part instead.
“They want to be seen as their real selves,” Allie said. “I think they came forward partly because I had recommendations from other women in that community.
“You need that as a way to get into the community, to earn trust. You have to prove what you are doing is morally right and you are not exploiting the ‘pink pound.’
“I don’t do anything with those images, they are not manipulated, they are real. When most of these women saw themselves like that they struggled to understand at first that it was them. There is no hair and make-up, it is not a commercial shoot, there is no filter. As soon as you are your real self and discover it, to be seen as you really are, it is not such a bad thing. Not if it is done with kindness.”
Allie said her own background helps with the subject matter.
Allie said: “I had an abusive childhood. To survive something like that you have to take yourself apart and rebuild yourself.
“And I know it gets much worse before it gets better. I have a lot in common with people who survive massive changes.”
Olivia Mina Fisher, 30, one of the models in the series, said it is important the images are being exhibited in Central Library where thousands of people from all walks of life visit every day.
“The importance of it is clear,” she said. “The theme behind the exhibition is trying to demonstrate