We Have Always Been Here

“We Have Always Been Here” is a ~10x10 inch linoleum block print made with brown oil based ink and printed on 12x12 inch Japanese Kitikata paper in a limited edition of just 60.  

This print is a part of a three-prints series conissioned by researchers from the University of Maryland and Washington University in St. Louis about Trans Futures and our safety. The project is run by two psychologist researchers who study the impact of anti-trans legislation on the wellbeing of transgender community members, namely trans mental health professionals who are on the ground supporting and advocating for trans rights. Through their research, they created a ‘found poem’ called “Simply Being” that is a culmination of the responses from their question “Given the increase in anti-trans legislation and social messages that seek to tell us that we are not loved, please offer a message to members of the trans /nonbinary community,” making the poem a sort of love letter to the community.

Mycology and fungi felt like the perfect imagery to  symbolize transgender identity, connection, community, and everlasting ways of being. Mycelial networks challenge understandings of gender and sex binaries with researchers finding single mushroom species with over 23,000 different sex combinations. Like mushrooms, trans people have always been here. We have forged our own realities despite cultural and societal norms trying to break us. Our existence is deeply intertwined with the natural world and like the environment, we expand beyond binary ways of thinking and being. We have always been here, rooted in the earth, as natural as can be, changing and morphing into beings as magical as mushrooms. 🍄

*Please note that due to the nature of hand-carved linoleum block printing, every print will have its own unique quality. Each edition is inspected to be the best quality and similar, but I cannot ensure exact replica of the print pictured on this site. Part of the magic of printmaking is all of the print-specific marks like "noise" or carving marks that add to the feel of the print. Please take note of this when ordering.