This is Not a Female Torso

The title of this piece is a play on the gendered figure in art and emphasizes the lack of transgender bodies represented in art. When I originally created this ceramic sculpture, its form was a reflection of the disconnect I felt between my physical body and my actual self–the feeling of body dysphoria. After beginning to medically reshape my own body, I returned to this clay figure. I found it heartbreaking in its misery, a state I could remember inhabiting but could no longer find, swaddled as I was in newfound comfort. Seeking to share some of this comfort with my past self, I covered my torso in blue underglaze and gave the sculpture a hug.