Transgalactique, trans art as a mirror of contemporary struggles

The TRANSGALACTIQUE exhibition runs until February 9, 2025, at Gaîté Lyrique, offering visitors a unique immersion into the world of trans perspectives. Fifteen artists from various backgrounds present their photo and video works, each reflecting the subtle intertwining of queerness, anti-racism, and ecology. This intimate setting offers a new visual experience, where art mirrors the struggles and reclaimed narratives this exhibition aims to rehabilitate. Leading this project are curators Nadège Piton, SMITH, Frank Lamy, and Balthazar Heisch, who, after their 2020 debut in the magazine The Eyes, continue their exploration of the role of photography in representing trans bodies. In this cozy space, the works of trans artists from around the world come together, using photography and video as tools of emancipation, placing community and struggle at the heart of their creation. More than just an exhibition, TRANSGALACTIQUE is a visual manifesto against binary and static narratives that too often confine trans identities. SMITH, one of the curators, explains it well: "Trans people are too often reduced to a trans object. Here, we want to reverse that perspective, to show that trans artists also speak about other things, that their views enrich our understanding of the world."

Throughout the visit, you will discover works like those of Kama La Mackerel, whose photographs reinterpret colonial postcards through a trans and Tamil perspective. Or Brandon Gercara, whose video installation "lip-sync de la pensée", on loan from FRAC Réunion, engages in dialogue with feminist, queer, and post-colonial texts. Here, queer art merges with orality, with lip-syncing becoming a powerful way to amplify thought. When trans identity is addressed head-on, it is always through the lived struggles of bodies, rather than mere representation. Zanele Muholi, with their series Queering Public Spaces, captures Black trans women on a Durban beach, a way to make this dual identity visible in public spaces marked by colonial history. An invitation to rethink history through perspectives that, while rooted in collective narratives, go far beyond simple identity claims. And then there is the intimacy, the tenderness of everyday life. Darko de la Jaquette, between Brussels and Marseille, documents their pregnancy and couple life in a series of tender photographs, responding in their own way to the controversies surrounding pregnant trans men. A tribute to simple love and the small gestures of daily life, which here take on a political dimension without being overtly militant. "We wanted to showcase other ways of making art, practices rooted in affection rather than theory," says Frank Lamy.

A journey through the past is also part of the program. Among the exhibition’s treasures, 19th-century photographs collected by director Sébastien Lifshitz offer a striking look at past cross-dressing practices. Festive images, faux weddings, moments where marginalized bodies regained control of their representation. Finally, Cassils, with their time-lapse, closes this constellation of works by documenting their body’s transformation through intense bodybuilding, echoing Eleanor Antin's 1972 work. It’s a way of questioning power, erasure, and the reclamation of the trans body, much like Brazilian duo Masina Pinheiro and Gal Cipreste do by exploring their own traumas through video. If you're in Paris before February, don't miss this exhibition where each work powerfully and proudly illuminates the stories of a community that, through its art, redefines possibilities and inspires a future filled with freedom and inclusion.