TRANSMONGOLIAN
The Secret History of the Mongols, considered to be the oldest Mongolian language literary work, is the single significant native account of Mongolia's rise to power around the 12th century AD. Blended with fictional and historical accounts, the epic poetry and narrative, recounts how the Genghis Khan was able to organize more than thirty tribes battling for control, and how once in power, with the objective to augment his population and face his enemies, declared homosexuality illegal under death penalty.
Inkjet print on hahnemühle paper, 90x130 cm, 2012
Inkjet print on hahnemühle paper, 30x50 cm, 2012
Today, more than eight hundred years later, Mongolia is a sovereign country with the lowest population rate in the world, lower than two inhabitants per square kilometer and being a homosexual, continues to be taboo. The weight of tradition and the years under Soviet control, a time in which homosexuals were sent to gulag, surmise a ballast for gays, lesbians, and transsexuals, who continue to be repressed, rejected, and victimized. Condemned to a life of secrecy, many of them find themselves turning to prostitution, others lead a life of solitude.
The younger wrestle to flee the Mongolian borders, to countries such as the Philippines or Japan, where their 'condition' is much more tolerable and dreams of a sex change are attainable, but above all, to an identity which in their native land, has been denied way too long.
Installation views. Photo España, Fúcares Gallery, 2012 / Cortona on the Move, 2014
Inkjet print on hahnemühle paper, Variable sizes. 90x130 and 30x50 cm, 2012
Transmongolian. Photography and sound. 2012