A tender portrayal of the everyday rituals of transgender and non-binary people

Vincent Ferrané’s portraits of Ava, Jackie, Leo, Mathieu, Matthias, Maty and Raya are now published in a photobook

Each morning we wake up, roll out of bed, and perform a routine. We might shower, shave, apply makeup, or pick out an outfit, before looking in the mirror, then stepping out of the door. Whether we regard these gestures as rituals or chores, these small, daily decisions shape our chosen identities, and reflect our personal histories.

Every-day by Vincent Ferrané presents a series of photographs of seven transgender or non-binary people, pictured in their private spaces, performing their daily routines. Matthias plaits their auburn hair, Leo pulls on a pair of denim dungarees, Raya dusts on a golden eyeshadow, and Jackie rubs ointment into the scars on their chest. The photographs depict mundane scenes, but they are significant: they provide a glimpse into the subtle, yet important, ways in which people can express their identities, evading the binary system of feminine and masculine that society attaches to so many of these gestures.

“I wanted to stay as close as possible to their actions, and to these daily devices which everyone knows, inviting the viewer to question themselves in relation to the images they see,” says Ferrané, who describes these devices as “a simple but key event, both symbolic and bodily”. We know nothing of the people photographed, except their chosen first names. “They appear first as a group, but many things lead you to see individuals with personal histories and interests,” says Ferrané. “One can understand this by their gestures, their bodies, their choice of their clothes, or the things they display on the walls.”

Every-day by Vincent Ferrané is published by Libraryman.