7th Son is a performance piece filmed and processed using digital software. Combining performance, masks, mythic symbolism and animation, the work explores the existence and acceptance of gender-variant people within mythology and folklore. I wanted to place trans and gender-variant people within history, showing that we have always existed, while creating a narrative rooted in positivity and spiritual evolution despite the challenges involved.

In Traveller folklore, the seventh son of a seventh son is considered lucky and often possesses mystical qualities. As a seventh son, I have always considered myself lucky to be trans. I began working on the piece in the weeks following top surgery, drawing heavily on Celtic mythology and fairytales.

I made the masks that become the face of the central character as they move through the different stages of a hero’s journey. The work draws on Joseph Campbell’s idea of the journey as leaving one condition, finding a source of life, and emerging into a richer, more mature and authentic state.

The work is presented as an installation of seven miniature screens, framed in gold.