Capturing the joy
An interview with photographer, Mads Barnes.
“its a boy”
Mads notes that a lot of the time, work showcasing the transgender community can be focused on their struggles and their sadness. “My series is one of the first ones I’ve seen where I’m expressing just the pure joy in it, and the love in the community that is around transgender people.”
Mads Barnes’s recent project “It’s a boy” follows the journey of Noah, as he undergoes the gender affirming top surgery as a stepping stone towards becoming his truest self.
This series is about so much more then identity, it’s a story about “community and self-love.”
Mads’ project has a personal component to it. “As a non-binary person”, Mads notes, “to a certain extent, I understand what its like to not fully identify with the gender and like sex you are assigned with at birth…” “When he [was] explaining things to me…I can relate to quite a bit of it on a different level, but kind of on the same level at the same time.”
"It’s very personal to me to bring awareness in any way I can and show support to those people,” they said. With a project holding so much contagious joy, Mads’ project certainly achieves this.
Though they have taken a documentary approach, it has been a highly collaborative effort.
“He’s contributed so many ideas,” Mads says.
As the project progresses, the bridging gap between photographer and participant becomes more obvious, with Mads’ and Noah’s growing friendship playing a big role in Mads’ evolving shooting style.
“The first day we shot was actually the first day we've ever met in person!” the two began as internet friends, and when asked if he would participate in the project, Mads commented that Noah “was immediately down!”
They note that initially the project began more posed and directed, "but now, towards the end of the project…it's just like we're hanging out and we're talking about shit and I'm just taking photos of him. It's very relaxing and it's a safe space for him and I, and it's also made the photos more authentic. I think you can tell that we have a good relationship through the photos…they're just special.”
With such personal topics, it is always obvious when the subject is putting up walls between them and the photographer, and that just isn’t the case with Mads and Noah.
There’s so much better outcomes when people are willing to put their ideas and experience into something, and that’s obvious within this project.
For Mads this project is one they see as a long, ongoing journey. “Noah’s journey was just the start of it,” they said, “I will continue to reach out to queer and trans people around Melbourne…just to keep it going.”
Visit Mad’s online at their instagram @shotzbymadz