For six years, documentary photographer Willeke Duijvekam photographed the everyday lives of two young transgender women, Mandy and Eva, who were born boys. Duijvekam captures their physical transformation into confident young women, but the photographer’s ability to reveal their inner worlds is quite beautiful. Duijvekam likes to embark on long-term projects to enhance the bond between photographer and subject. The intimacy is evident here as Duijvekam’s camera is allowed inside the most sacred of spaces: the teenage bedroom. Duijvekam’s book of Mandy and Eva’s photos echoes the girls’ connection. As Beautiful/Decay explains:
In Duijvekam’s book, the subtle photos of the two transgender girls are incorporated into an interleaved book. In the video of the book [featured below], the pages are separate but related, each girl always present in the other’s spreads, advancing and retreating at the turn of a page. It is a masterful match of form and content. The book progresses backward through time, reversing the expected progression and reinforcing that these are two girls. The bodies that they were born into are much less important than the bodies in which they have become themselves.
Preview Duijvekam’s photos in our gallery, and visit her website to find out how to purchase your own book.
Photo credit: Willeke Duijvekam
Photo credit: Willeke Duijvekam
Photo credit: Willeke Duijvekam
Photo credit: Willeke Duijvekam
Photo credit: Willeke Duijvekam
Photo credit: Willeke Duijvekam
Photo credit: Willeke Duijvekam
Photo credit: Willeke Duijvekam
Photo credit: Willeke Duijvekam
Mandy & Eva from Willeke Duijvekam on Vimeo.