- What if I changed the virgin to a trans woman?
- What if I depicted a trans woman as an iconic religious or feminine idol?
I chose to depict trans model Hari Nef as the Virgin Mary for the second part of my bridge project focused on gender. Mary has historically been a symbol of purity and “perfect femininity” which led me to think about the treatment of trans-women and how unaccepting society is in regards to trans-women being women. I wanted to depict a trans-woman in the same light of purity and the “perfect femininity” that the virgin represents since more often than not society denies them their right to the correct pronouns and gender expression.
How does the material you used reinforce or strengthen the thematic content of your artwork? I chose ink for the portrait and gold metallic paint for the halo/crown. The lack of color for the portrait makes the figure look solemn while the gold paint creates an emphasis on the halo and “holiness” of the figure. I wanted to emphasize the eyes as well and the emotion of sacrifice and loss.
This piece would could be used as a movie poster for a film focused on a trans-woman who probably grew up in a religious setting or possibly a poster for the Trans Day of Remembrance.
