A Human Rights Self Portrait: Revisiting Kelli Connell’s “Pictures for Charis”

    For my final project in my Photo, New Media, and Social Change class, my professor asked us to create a “Human Rights Selfie.” Our photos could be of ourselves or someone else as long as we shaped the project with our subject. The image must represent a human right of our choice, pulled from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the United Nations in 1948. For this project, I revisited Kelli Connell’s series Pictures for Charis. I feel that Connell’s work as a queer photographer, and especially the collection Pictures for Charis, is keenly related to the human right I chose to represent: the right to freedom of opinion and expression, also known as Article 19 of the UDHR.

    When wrapping up my second project for this class, a recreation of two images from Pictures for Charis, I found a picture from the collection that I had somehow missed in my prior views. This image, a picture of Connell’s wife Betsy, is so simple yet so striking. Both my partner Bill, who modeled for the recreations in my second project, and I wanted to recreate this picture in addition to the other two, but we ran out of time before I had to submit the assignment. With all that said, it seemed fitting to recreate this image for the final project and to utilize it as a message for the right to freedom of opinion and expression. 

Preston from Pictures for Charis

Preston from Pictures for Charis 

Billie Blue

Billie Blue

    My muse and the model in my photo is my partner, Billie. Bill identifies as non-binary trans-masculine and was lucky enough to receive top surgery in January of 2023. This surgery was monumental for Billie’s mental health. It allowed Bill to see themselves in the mirror as they are in their head. Bill’s experience is precisely the reason why transgender youth across the world should have access to any gender-affirming care necessary. 

    The so-called land of the free that we live in has turned against transgender folks in the past few years. Bans on gender-affirming care have passed on varying levels in 24 states. According to the Human Rights Campaign, as of April this year, 38% of transgender youth in America live in states that have banned gender-affirming care to some extent. With this political climate in mind, I wanted to recreate the image of Betsy taken by Connell with Billie and ensure that Bill’s top-surgery scars were visible. Trans visibility is critical now, and I wanted these images to contribute.

    

    In Preston from Pictures for Charis, Betsy only wears her wedding ring. For Billie Blue, I wanted Bill to wear all the accessories they usually would to keep it as true to Bill as possible. In Billie Blue, Bill wears their promise ring on their right hand. They like to wear it on their right hand so that our rings touch when we hold hands, as I wear mine on my left.