Un- erasing the boy

Pastels on watercolor paper 21 X 29 CM 2023

PROJECT  OUTLINE

In state care, the child of “the bad parents” had to be reshaped into a “proper citizen” by any means necessary — including violence. This process began even for three‑ and four‑year‑olds, and the erasure of the child’s self extended to its origins, behavior, family, siblings, and even its gender of birth. Un‑erasing the boy confronts the systematic destruction of identity and gender I experienced within state‑directed youth care. Through photography and paint, I rework my own body to reclaim a childhood and self that were denied to me. The work is not depiction — it is reconstruction.

 Turning himself (he/him) into a boy

Heroes of the process