Brie by Luka Weinberger

Brie, 2023
Luka Weinberger
36″x24″
Oil on canvas
1600

Brie
They/She
Oil, impasto medium on cotton canvas
2023

Brie is a non-binary femme-presenting individual. They are also a black woman and identify as such. They currently study at OSU and spoke extensively about their writing, and expressing themselves and their thoughts on various social topics through their papers. So it felt fitting to incorporate the written word into the piece. Because Brie expressed a more “fixed” versus fluid identity, I employed dry brushing and impasto techniques. Before applying color, I painted the words “they” and “them” over and over in white gesso, and then the dry brushing slowly made the words visible. We cannot know someone’s gender just by how they dress or look. We must ask, listen, and acknowledge when told.

“To me, trans means bravery. From birth, society tells you who you are, who you should be, how you should live. Existence is just as standardized and controlled as everything else in life. Being trans, is automatically going against what our society has deemed as “the right way to exist,” and I think there’s a lot of courage in that. To be loud about being trans takes courage. To change your name takes courage. To change your appearance takes courage. To explore, both internally and externally takes courage. To even grapple with the idea that you could be trans, takes so much courage.”