1 mins
Sites of Dreaming
Shia Conlon is an Irish writer and artist based in Helsinki whose work has been centred around marginalised voices and growing up in the landscape of workingclass Catholic Ireland. His current research is focused on non-linear time and how to use the power of archives, language and memory as tools for queer representation.
His work is rooted in collaboration and would not exist without the vulnerability of his queer and trans community. Shia is one-third of Almanac Press, a trans-ran publishing press and mutual aid initiative, and co-founder of Trans Library Helsinki.
The images shown are taken from his project Sites of Dreaming which documents the lives of trans people in Finland. The project uses photography as a tool for both archiving and building a community. Within the work, he tries to create moments of care and safety, in what he describes as “a contrast to the transphobic bureaucracy of Finnish healthcare”.
As stated by Shia, the current healthcare system in Finland requires lengthy testing times in order to access gender-affirming care. The current wait times for an appointment are six to 12 months and the current processing time is anywhere between two to five years. The process ends in a paper diagnosis which is distributed in the mail. Despite having gender change from Ireland, Shia was still subject to this process which took a total of three years.
The majority of trans folk in Helsinki turns to their community for help while going through the system, and Shia wanted to use this project to show these moments of care. Sites of Dreaming aims to bring a quieter reality of trans life to the forefront. One where power is found in everyday domestic moments.
Kiss, 2021
Wild Combination, 2020.
Self in bandages, 2020