I’m a trans man living and working in London. I transitioned in my early 30’s and began making art at roughly the same time, partly to explore and express my own transition and partly to pursue a more creative approach to life generally.
My original inspiration was the photography and films of those artists who document trans people and the diversity of the trans community. It was their work that enabled me to recognise my own trans self. However, my own interest is largely in work that moves away from photo-real representations of trans people and trans bodies, looking for different ways to discuss trans experiences.
My practice often plays on the paradoxes of trans-existence and reflects on my own experiences as a trans man, discussing trans experiences, looking at trans history, exploring and questioning the general landscape of how we approach gender, and celebrating gender diversity.
Although my work draws on those experiences, much of it could be interpreted without any reference to that aspect of my life at all, and through this approach, I hope to make work that is also meaningful to a wider audience.
I believe creative works of all kinds play a vital role in broadening the visibility of trans people and in developing a visible trans / gender diverse / queer community and culture.
I frequently work with themes of change, transformation and the idea of ‘constructive destruction’, using everyday or DIY materials in unexpected ways. I see a parallel between the processes involved in making and those of transition. In terms of materials, I’m attracted to those that reflect aspects of home, self-reliance and the personal, combining into a sense of being at home (or otherwise) in one’s own skin.
My exhibited work generally takes the form of small objects, but also includes videos and photographs, many of which record events or processes, and sometimes involves text, collage or installations.
Alongside my current practice, I work full time for Gendered Intelligence, a charity that works to increase understandings of gender diversity and improve quality of life for trans people, heading up their training and consultancy function.
Simon Croft