Seventh Son - is a performance piece; filmed and then animated. Its an illustration of one person’s internal world while journeying through the process of gender transition. Using performance, mask, mythic symbolism and animation techniques, I wanted to create a short film that referenced the existence and acceptance of gender variant people in mythology and folk law, to place us in history and to show that we have always existed. It was also important for me to create a narrative that provided a different kind of story, one of positivity and spiritual evolution despite the challenges involved. 

In traveler folk law the seventh son of a seventh son is always lucky. As a seventh child, I have decided to interpret my gender state as a lucky gift. I began working on this film in the first weeks following top surgery, creating and making the masks that would become the face of the central character as they travel through the stages of a hero’s story. I drew heavily on symbolism within Celtic mythology and fairytale, and decided to use the general motif of the hero’s story, which according to Joseph Campbell is to "leave one condition and find the source of life to bring you fourth into a richer more mature authentic condition.” In the beginning, in a state of unconsciousness and under the influence of the Capitalist/patriarch, who pretends to protect him but is in-fact busy selling his life for pieces of silver, our hero is woken by the stirrings of the subconscious; 'the mother' telling him something is not quite right. Waking up hard and fast, and despite attempts at protection, he finds himself betrayed and flung from the comforts of innocence. 

The work is shown as an installation on seven screens simultaneously.

BATTLE GROUND 

These photographs were shot on 35mm film in 1993. I was a young single mum, who had left school at 12 years old and had my first child by the time I was 17. At this time, I had just started attending adult education courses in art. These images were shot prior to starting my BA in art and design at Chelsea. I came across these images when I was clearing out some stuff during lockdown. At this time, I had never heard of trans-men, never knew transitioning was even a possibility. These images were shown as part of the Rebel Dykes art and archive show along side 7th son. 25 years separate these two works.