Briar
Marsh Pine

Camouflaged

In making the series Camouflaged, I consider my patriarchal lineage which is tied to military service, hunting, and white American masculinity. Both photography and the masculine culture I was raised in share a similar history regarding the environment; a history mired in ideas of control, domination, and extraction. In making this work, I utilize materials associated with this version of masculinity to question and investigate their representation in our visual culture.

Camouflage, Blaze orange, and military patterning are materials designed to blend into the environment or stand out against it. This is similar to how trans identities are viewed–oscillating between assimilating into the patriarchal cultural environment or challenging it. As a Trans person, I often question how I am perceived and how I dismantle, uphold, or complicate the patriarchal ideologies embedded within our culture. I utilize personal artifacts such as my father's hair, my grandfather's collection of skulls, and family photographs to trace and question my patriarchal lineage while imagining alternative masculinities. Through this process, I break down the history and aesthetic associations I have with each material to reclaim and repurpose them.