Understanding Me: Examining Gender, Pronouns and the Perception of the Self with Photographer Lex Barberio

We met artist Lex Barberio in 2019 during the opening night for an exhibition showcasing her photographic series The Ambisextrous. The enthralling set of portraits, printed on lenticular paper, played with three different exposures of each of her subjects, exploring the fluidity of gender and the very personal experience of what it means to be masculine, feminine, or an androgynous person in today’s world. For her new series, Understanding Me, Barberio continues to examine gender identity as it relates to the power of pronouns. Words that not only influence how society sees us as a person but also how we perceive ourselves in the eyes of others. 

For this body of work, Barberio uses photography and video to highlight the stories of people who have bravely broken free from the constraints imposed on us by pronouns. The photos are printed on PVC, displaying each subject’s pronoun in neon lights, with the video interviews offering a raw and intimate glimpse into the life experiences of each of the models.

Continue reading below for an exclusive sneak peek of the artist’s new series and her exhibition, Illuminated: A Lens On Gender, opening this May in New York. – GM