Walking through Julia Cumes’ moving exhibition “Trans(formation): A Collaborative Portrait Series Exploring Gender Identity on Cape Cod” is a stirring experience. The powerful portraits of trans individuals just across the water and their accompanying stories capture each sitter’s heart, soul, and life.
For Cumes, the collection delves into the diverse and nuanced experiences of people navigating their gender identity on the Cape, where she has lived for more than 23 years: “Each image and caption results from a collaborative process between myself and the subjects, allowing their unique narratives to shine through. Together, we hope to confront viewers with the expressive power and diversity of human gender identity, and ask them to re-examine their assumptions.”
Scott Mullin and his organization, QueerHubMV, a community-based group that seeks to change the LGBTQ landscape on the Vineyard, arranged for the 21-image series to be showcased at the Vineyard Haven library, Island Counseling, and the M.V. Family Resource Center at M.V. Community Services through Dec. 15.
The size and aluminum material makes every photograph “pop,” increasing its immediacy and, thus, its impact. Just a few at the Vineyard Haven library include “Hayden.” They sit looking into our eyes, soaking in a large, free-standing tub. Five vials of testosterone line the edge, each representing a year of their transition. Hayden tenderly holds a marvelous childhood picture of themself to convey the enormous changes they have experienced.
While Cumes’ impressively large print conveys Hayden’s very essence, the accompanying arresting story lets us hear their voice, as with every portrait. Hayden says, “The best thing about transitioning was finding my true, authentic self, and continuing to find more layers underneath, being unapologetic, visible, and outspoken … adjectives I never thought I would use to label myself.”
Elizabeth rests comfortably in a flowing red dress and broad smile atop a bright yellow skiff, referencing working closely during childhood with her shellfisherman father. Although she seems to fully embrace who she is now, we read that by the time Elizabeth was 9 years old, she didn’t feel right about her gender, and at 12, started doing research about being transgender. Yet she shares, “In high school, I played football, wrestled, and fished … I was even captain of the football team, and everyone liked me for it, but underneath, I was really depressed … The best thing about transitioning has been being able to present as who I really am. I’m realizing that I’m the one who has been holding me back, and I’m working on overcoming my own fears.”
Standing knee-deep in Cape Cod waters, Ariel throws her arms up wide, eyes closed with a beatific smile, glorying in her body. We learn that Cumes took the picture just two months after Ariel’s gender-affirming surgery, and it was the first time she’d been photographed in a bikini: “This is the first time I’ve been photographed as my true self.”
Looking pensively upward, Rikki sits amid her drums in a cherry-red-sequined, side-slitted dress, net stockings, and sexy high heels. Inspired by Ringo Starr, at 11 years old, she started playing the drums. Before transitioning, Rikki performed with the likes of George Carlin and the Incredible Casuals, who fired her after 35 years when she began transitioning: “I couldn’t get out of bed. All I could do was cry.” Later in her story, we read that Elizabeth won a precedent-setting case against MassHealth/Medicaid to get her hormones paid for by the state, which likewise, afterward, settled to cover her surgery.
The seeds of this project began about 10 years ago, when Cumes’ nephew, who was then a 5-year-old girl, said that he was a boy: “Charley [a nickname] … made me realize how little visual representation there was of the trans community on Cape Cod, where I live,” and thus, her project was born.
Cumes continues, “One of the people I photographed and interviewed early on told me that statistically, there are more people who think they’ve seen a ghost than people who think they’ve seen a trans person. I was so struck by this comment, and hope the project leads to greater understanding and appreciation of this vital community, and their individual stories and contributions.”
In creating the work, Cumes had the person decide how they wanted to be represented, from what they wore to where they would be photographed. For the accompanying narratives, the two would have a conversation, which included the sitter’s background, and answers to five questions: What was the best thing about transitioning? What was the hardest? How has your perception of gender changed since transitioning? What are your hopes and dreams for the future?
Cumes says, “My passion lies in storytelling and capturing authentic moments of human connection. Having grown up in apartheid-era South Africa under a repressive and racially discriminatory regime, I understood early on the power of photography to reveal truth, evoke empathy, and catalyze change. Perhaps because of this, I believe in using photography as a tool for engaging in dialogue about the complex issues facing our society today.”
“Trans(formation): A Collaborative Portrait Series Exploring Gender Identity on Cape Cod” is on view at the Vineyard Haven library, Island Counseling, and the M.V. Family Resource Center at M.V. Community Services through Dec. 15. To see more, visit juliacumes.com, and the video “Julia Cumes: 2024 Artist of the Year.”
