Even within the queer community, Charly Walsh has been more “out” than most, and he says there’s good reason for that.
“Growing up in Tairāwhiti I had never met a trans person – I didn’t even know what that meant – so didn’t have the language to express what I knew to be true,” the former Gisborne photographer says.
“So if I am ever asked to speak up for the community, I do, even if it’s uncomfortable. I didn’t want anyone else to go through the confusion of not having a pathway to living a safe and authentic life.”
As part of that, the then-teen Walsh helped found the Qmunity Youth Gisborne group for young people growing up queer in his home region.
A decade later he’s continued by focusing his latest series of works on trans people living in his new home of Dunedin.
And they’re not just about the personalities depicted.
“The work documents individuals in places that carry personal meaning ... spaces that reflect who they are that hold memories and offer comfort,” he says.
“My goal is to capture each subject authentically in an environment that has helped make them who they are.”
Entitled Identity In Frame, the five large-scale images (and accompanying text) will from January 31 be shown as the fourth annual Pride Tairāwhiti exhibition to be hosted at Tairāwhiti Museum.
They were conceived as last year’s primary project in the artist’s second year of a Bachelor of Visual Arts at Otago Polytechnic and depict four trans women and one trans man ... the artist himself.
“I am aiming to get a bit more gender balance and look forward to achieving that as the project evolves,” the 26-year-old says.
“But it takes a lot of courage to be depicted in such a public way and subjects need to be sure they are ready for such scrutiny.”
Identity In Frame was shot with a Canon 500N camera on the Ilford FP4 Plus film Walsh says offers the clarity useful in creating contrast in portraiture.
“I do sometimes work in digital format but, for this project, using film provided an intimacy that suited the subject matter. Throughout the whole project the emphasis has been on taking time and doing things with a great deal of care.”
In terms of process, Walsh strives to make the act of photography a shared experience, rather than an “extractive” one, giving his subjects the authenticity – and autonomy – to be seen as they see themselves.
But as always, fostering visibility is key.
“As a young person, I rarely saw positive, genuine portrayals of trans lives and the stories that did exist often felt distorted or incomplete.
“With this series, I wanted to create a visual space where people like myself and my models can be seen on our own terms with no agenda or narrative imposed.
“The aim is to contribute to the archive of visibility while at the same time celebrating the bravery and resilience my friends show simply by being true to themselves.”
The preview opening for Identity In Frame is at Tairāwhiti Museum on Friday, January 31, from 5.30pm.
