"Unidentified Bodies" Explores the Trans Experience in a Heteronormative World
- Caroline Haïat
- 8 minutes ago
- 3 min read
Nearly 20 trans artists will present original works starting Thursday, exploring themes of belonging, the body, love, family, transformation and dreams for the future. The exhibition, “Unidentified Bodies,” will open at Bifnocho Gallery in Tel Aviv. The exhibition aims to place trans creativity and perspectives at the forefront of Israel’s contemporary art scene.
Organized in collaboration with Acis, a queer and trans cultural and artistic collective, and The Pink Triangle, a new platform dedicated to queer art, the exhibition is supported by the Gila Project for Trans Empowerment. It is curated by artists and activists Andy Shaham and Jesse Brandt.
At the heart of the project is a central question: How can trans people live and create in a heteronormative world? But the curators seek to move beyond questions of gender identity alone. Created specifically for the exhibition, the works are organized around five main themes: belonging and otherness; spaces of waiting and processes; body and sexuality; love and family; and the future and dreams.
From Bureaucracy to Dreams of the Future
One of the exhibition’s central threads is the relationship between time and transformation. For many trans people, transition can involve medical procedures, administrative processes, periods of waiting, and profound personal or family changes. It can also become a journey of self-discovery and of finding one’s place in society.
The exhibition also highlights experiences that extend far beyond the trans experience: the need to belong, our relationship with the body, love, family, wounds, hopes and aspirations.
“This exhibition is a unique and innovative opportunity to discover authentic trans art,” explain curators Andy Shaham and Jesse Brandt. Their goal, they say, is to place trans voices, knowledge and lived experiences at the forefront, rather than presenting them through an external gaze.
They also seek to create a space where different experiences and perspectives can coexist without necessarily cancelling one another out, allowing visitors to reflect on what brings their own experiences closer to—or sets them apart from—the trans experience.
An Opening Night That Will Turn the Gallery into a Living Space
The opening, scheduled for August 20 at 8 p.m., will take the form of a full artistic evening. The program will include video screenings, performances, dance, readings, poetry, DJ music, temporary artistic interventions and a gallery shop.
Visitors will be able to purchase prints of the works on display, as well as other creations by participating artists. Tattoos by trans artists will also be available during the opening night.
A trans activist, social entrepreneur, lecturer and writer, Jesse Brandt considers art, visual representation and queer culture to be essential elements of his activism. Alongside him, curator Andy Shaham is a trans artist whose work explores questions of gender and identity. Working across different media, including oil painting, acrylic and printmaking, he also addresses his experience of endometriosis as a trans man and the transformations associated with his journey.
Art as a Tool for Visibility
Beyond the exhibition itself, “Unidentified Bodies” carries a broader ambition: to create a space where trans artists are not presented merely as a subject of debate, but as artists in their own right, bringing their own voices, worlds and artistic perspectives.
Art thus becomes both a means of personal expression and a tool for visibility, connection and dialogue with wider society.
Caroline Haïat
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