Shop / 'Ticunas' Poster Print by Nelson Morales
'Ticunas' Poster Print by Nelson Morales
This poster is derived from a series titled 'Ticunas' by Mexican artist Nelson Morales that depicts a community of trans women in the Colombian Amazon.
The Colombian Amazon is a natural paradise with enchanting landscapes, exotic species and endless rivers. I had very high expectations, but I did not know what would happen, I just wanted to go into the jungle, the landscapes and try to know the sexual diverse people living there.
For two days, I walked through Puerto Nariño, one of the towns in the Amazon. I could not see a transgender girl, I was disappointed. Some of the people there told me that it was a taboo topic for the Amazon habitants. One rainy afternoon, after losing any hope, I found a lipstick on the street; I took it and kept walking. A few steps ahead, I met Jairo, a gay hair-dresser...
Jairo introduce me to the Ticuna transgender community in Puerto Nariño...I was told there are a lot of homophobic reactions in the town. They also told me that fifteen years ago there were no transgender people in the Amazon area; they become visible in the last years because of television and mass media. The transgender people have merged in the communities gaining strength.
I show them some photographs that I have made for the muxes at Oaxaca, they liked them and they immediately wanted to be part of that photographic series. One of the Ticuna transgender girls told me that they wanted to have their own reality: Amazonas Next Top Model to pose like a real top model. For the photo session each person decided where to be photographed; the rivers, the jungle, their houses. They used their best garments, and they posed like models. During the photo session, with each photograph the ambient was getting more and more intense, sensual and transgressor.
They ask to be recognized by the whole society, especially by the tribe leaders who against with them. Either way, the Ticuna transgender girls will continue expressing their beauty and freedom until they are recognized as a third gender.
Nelson has dedicated himself completely to photography since 2008. His work focuses mainly on issues of gender, body, identity and sexual diversity. His work has been exhibited globally, including Germany, Netherlands, Spain, Canada, Portugal, Malaysia, India, Brazil, Argentina and Columbia, to name a few. His achievements include Finalist in the FOLA Photobook Award (2018) and First Place in the Pride Photo Award in the Netherlands (2019). His work has been published in Aperture, The New York Times, Vogue Italia, Vogue México, Vice, Mexicanísimo, TETU, among others. In 2018, he published his first Photobook, "Musas Muxe" followed by "Fantastic Woman" in 2019.