Auckland visual artist Rebecca Swan is delighted with a Lambda Award nomination for her book Assume Nothing, which smashes down barriers around gender identity. The work is nominated in the transgender non-fiction category of the US-based book awards known as "the Lammys" which honour lgbt literature. "As Assume Nothing is a project that has spanned 15 years and required personal funds to ensure it is published to a really high quality, the Lambda Award nomination is a great acknowledgment of the work that's gone into it, and also for the people who's images and stories are what makes the book so rich and complex," Swan says. "The book is now in 12 countries and I've had very positive feedback from many people. One just last weekend, said that Assume Nothing was a part of their decision to transition, which blows my mind really." Swan says it's also very fulfilling that the project instigated the film by Kirsty MacDonald (Assume Nothing) and the exhibition (Assume Nothing celebrating gender diversity) which is currently on show in Barcelona. The Lammy winners will be announced in New York on 26 May, meanwhile Swan remains a busy artist. She just opened a show SWEAT at Mark Hutchins gallery and shot some new images on a special 'Kissing Booth' night, from which a selection will be added to the exhibition next time it's shown. She is particularly exciting about starting work on a new collaborative installation film/sound work.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Thursday, 24th March 2011 - 12:30pm