Artist Statement

Have a Heart is a storytelling artist’s book that explore the transgender experience and the judgement that often comes with it. Through this work, I aim to counter the narrative that frames all trans people as dangerous or as an “abomination”. My goal is to humanize trans individuals by showing how similar we are to everyone else.

Throughout the book, the empty hearts of the two girls symbolize the dominant narrative that casts trans people in a negative and harmful light. In addition to addressing this narrative, I wanted to emphasize the importance of community—the idea that even when it feels like no one sees or understands you, there is always someone out there who will. At the end of the book, the two girls finally meet, and their hearts begin to radiate, symbolizing understanding, connection, and acceptance.

The process of this project began with a five-minute timed writing exercise, where I wrote down everything that came to mind. From there, I refined my ideas and developed a storyboard to guide the structure of the piece. In terms of materials, I used acrylic, papier-mâché, wire, ink, and decorative paper to bring the story to life. These elements work together to support both the visual and emotional aspects of the narrative.