I have spent years being dissatisfied in the body that I inhabit. Possessing qualities of both femininity and masculinity, I toe the line between what is defined as “man” and “woman.” I am a transgender man, and as such I will never be fully male, just as I never was fully female. My larger-than-life self-portraits seek a balance of this duality as it coexists within my body. Utilizing shifting lines, I map out a body that is simultaneously familiar and a stranger. Internal form and contour lines merge and flow, becoming one continuous stream coming together to create the figure. Through my drawings I do not search for an acceptance from others, but instead an acceptance of myself, from myself.

Through the Luminous Bodies Residency, I plan to further explore my body, how it relates to the natural world. Joining the human body and aspects of nature, I hope to create work which investigates the fluid, transformative essence of my existence as a transperson.

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Lou Eberhard is a transgender artist whose current focus is creating self portraits which reflect on the balance between masculinity and femininity within his own gender identity and gender presentation. Eberhard completed his MFA at New York Academy of Art, and lives in New York City.