Zach Oren
Ides of Gender
Sep 5 - 28, 2024
Ides of Gender is a photo series celebrating everyone under the trans umbrella – binary and non-binary. Since 2017, I set out to document the rich diversity within the trans community and have had the privilege of photographing over 650 trans folx in all 49 continental US states, as well as Hawai’i, Puerto Rico, and Washington D.C.
There’s an obsession with trans bodies that society often feels entitled to – objectified and scrutinized to the point of physical harm. Being cisgender, I had a responsibility to photograph each person honestly and with utmost integrity. From the very beginning, the series has been a collaborative exercise in trust – trusting that a complete stranger will show up and share their authentic self. Extracting their own truth and facing my camera intimately, I never had to take anyone’s photograph. It was generously given to me.
Since moving to the US, my pursuit of community and self-expression has been constant. Being on the road working on Ides of Gender for the past seven years, ended up – unexpectedly – validating my own queerness and intersectionality. I see myself in all of these portraits. I hope you see your own journey mirrored back within these lives.
Each portrait in this space represents trans visibility in a different state.
Representation matters. Visibility matters.
Zach Oren (Israeli-American, b. 1979, he/him/his) is a photographer based in Los Angeles by way of Israel. He is a self-taught photographer who loves taking portraits in natural settings where documentary meets editorial. Oren uses his own intersectionality – queer, poz, feminist, Middle Eastern – and intent to focus on underrepresented voices to highlight immense beauty too often overlooked.
Oren likes keeping things simple and making people feel seen through the images he creates. He states, “Witnessing someone’s reaction to one of my portraits is a feeling of gratitude I’ve yet been able to fully express.”
Oren’s work has been exhibited on both coasts and shown in several publications.
Oren wishes to express his gratitude to gallery visitors for taking the time to explore his work.