Hoods (2019) is a series of hand-sewn wearable hoods that portray my coming-of-age journey as a Trans girl. Each hood combines materials that celebrate trans queer motifs like drag, pop culture, and gender themes such as shades of pink, chiffon, tulle, mylar, vinyl, and beads. Blurring the boundaries between contemporary art, performance, drag, pop culture, and fashion, Hoods (2019) allows me to explore my authentic self through various roles and characters.
I perform in each hood with an accompanying soundtrack that incorporates sounds from my childhood, contradicting the fantasy of the hoods with the reality of my life experiences such as the voice of my family members and sounds from forced “male” roles. By using the hood as a motif, I submit to a prominent contradiction in queer culture: The desire for anonymity in nightlife and bdsm spaces and the bold, on-display nature of pop culture and high fashion. Rendering my face unrecognizable, grants agency to my usually displayed identity while drawing attention to the cultural persona I adopt for protection, allowing me control of who can gaze upon me and when I can be gazed upon.
