This body of work documents am early stage of transitioning. During it’s creation Hatfield was trying to represent fluidity in their gender identity, but in the time since she has come to identify as transfeminine and looking back on the work, sees more of a document of dysphoria and other struggles with her transition than anything else. This is what prompted the reworking of the project.
In revisiting the project, she changed the title from “Fluid” to “Rough Surf / Soft Fabric”, reduced the scale of the book from 190x220mm to 130x90mm and changed from portrait to landscape, printed on pink paper instead of white, and swapped a hardcover for paperback. These changed have led to the creation of a more intimate publication, something more evidently handmade, but that still has elements that stand out against other works and offer a more individual and unique type of photobook.
Foreword:
Later in the day, members of the SA joined students in the raid. There was a brass band playing for much of the attacks, and students sung the Nazi party anthem.
Four days after the raid, much of the looted material was burned in the street. It is estimated anywhere from 12,000 to 25,000 books and journals were destroyed, along with an even larger number of photographs, medical equipment, documents, works of art, and personal possessions of those who inhabited the institute.
Magnus Hirschfeld, who ran the institute, advocated for equality and understanding of people of all sexualities and genders. Notably for the time, he also recognised a third gender, what today would often be described as non-binary, and people with no fixed gender, which would often be regarded as gender-fluid.
And most importantly, Hirschfeld stated that these people were acting “in accordance with their nature,” not against it.
When influential figures, or even just people shouting slurs in the street, spout their hatred it relies on dehumanising us, on treating queer people as an “other”, as something wholly different to themselves because if they were to recognise they are not just attacking queer rights, but human rights, they might realise why it is wrong, why it is unjustifiable.
There is still a significant lack of understanding around sexuality and gender identity. So much of this comes from misinformation, deliberately spread by politicians, celebrities and media, often as a tactic to garner votes, wealth or power.
While this book is a document, it is also an expression of who I am, and I hope I have expressed this in a way that is understandable both to people who may relate to parts of the book, and to those who have completely different life experiences.
Throughout the book I explore my relationship with gender dysphoria, euphoria, my relationship with my body, and with my environment.
It is my hope that this book could help educate people, to encourage people to be more accepting, and to show that queer people are ultimately people. Like Hirschfeld said, we are “acting in accordance with [our] nature,” not against it.
© Artemis Hatfield, 2024