Photos, steel, makrolon, motor, light, wood, foil, cloth, 300cm width. 230cm high (Zoetrope). Courtesy of the artist.
Yishay Garbasz was born a woman. She is now a woman. She will die a woman. On November 18, 2008, she had gender clarification surgery. For one year before and one year after, she took pictures of herself every week to document the subtle changes her body underwent. There are 1886 pictures in total. Only 32 were selected for the zoetrope. Each photo is a building block. Their meaning is cumulative. Garbasz selected the zoetrope and flip book to avoid the contexts that the projected image has in our society. Many portraits of transgender people are limited to ‘before’ and ‘after’, the ‘black and white’ of sex: male or female. These ideas are reinforced by Hollywood and enable violence. In order to survive, many transgender people stay closeted or keep their past a secret. Garbasz explores the grey rather than the ‘black’ or ‘white’ of male or female. The genitals so many focus on are just a tiny part of the body with only one change; her hair, for example, is a lot more interesting, changing from portrait to portrait.