Jessie Keary

Super Natural is a series of self portraits and constructed images made in and around my childhood home, exploring inner child healing, transition/embodiment, religious trauma, and what is considered "natural" on stolen, suburbanized land. Through double exposures, reflections, and my favorite Barbie doll as a kid, Tommy, I sought to delve into the multiplicity and authenticity of self across time—what changes? What stays the same?

Jessie Keary [they/he] is a trans, neurodivergent writer and artist from the Midwest, US / Wahzhazhe land. Their work centers queer history and futures. His debut chapbook Explaining a Dress: Transfeminine Erasure & Vindication was published by Palette Poetry and is part of a larger project using archived newspaper articles about gender-nonconforming people from the 1860s-1960s as source material.

Jessie sits on a fallen tree, propped on one elbow, wearing a striped shirt, sheer black overshirt, and jeans, holding a cable release and looking at the camera.

Jessie on the Fallen Tree, collaborative portrait.
Jessie sits on a fallen tree, propping up their body on their elbow. They wear a striped shirt, sheer black overshirt and jeans. They hold the cable release in their right hand and look directly at the camera.

A black-and-white photo of rain-soaked lilies bending over a sidewalk, rotated so the white flowers form a crescent opening left.

1

A black highway construction sign flashes “STAY STRAIGHT” in orange bulbs, with traffic cones in front and purple wildflowers at lower right.

2

A black-and-white photo shows Tommy, a bowl-cut doll, looking into a toy mirror, where his in-focus reflection is partly obscured by a storm cloud sticker.

3

A black-and-white photo of a chest and neck in an open striped shirt, with chest hair lit beneath the collar’s shadow.

4

A black-and-white flash photo shows testosterone gel being dispensed from the right hand into the left palm.
A black-and-white flash photo shows testosterone gel being dispensed from the right hand into the left palm.

5

A black-and-white photo of an arm reaching palm-down through tall grass, with the wrist in focus.
A black-and-white photo of an arm reaching palm-down through tall grass, with the wrist in focus.

6

A black-and-white double-exposure self-portrait shows one figure lying in a hole in the woods and another seated at its edge with raised palms.

7

A black-and-white photo shows two childhood photos against a black backdrop, with an out-of-focus Tommy doll in the foreground.

8

A self-portrait shows a person shaving, out of focus in the foreground, with two in-focus mirror reflections in a striped polo.

9

A blurred self-portrait shows a figure twirling on a childhood swing set, wearing a pink cowboy hat, checkered dress, and blue-green boots.

10

A color photo shows Tommy beside a pink disco ball in tall grass, with a hand reaching toward them in the ball’s reflection.

11

A color double-exposure self-portrait shows a figure leaning against a tree in the woods, with clouds lightly layered across the image.

12

A color photo of a clay sculpture of DJT as a raging baby in a gold toy throne with McDonald’s arches, against an upside-down U.S. flag, doubled by a prism.

13

Image info

  1. Mother
    Black and white photo of rain drops weighing down lilies. The stems bend over a concrete sidewalk. The image is rotated, so the white flowers mimic a crescent moon, opening to the left.

  2. Laws of the Land
    A black construction sign along a US highway flashes “STAY STRAIGHT” in orange bulbs. Purple wildflowers bloom in the lower right corner and a few orange traffic cones create a wobbly line in front of the sign.

  3. Tommy’s Existential Questions
    Black and white photo against a black backdrop of Tommy, a little boy doll with a bowl cut. He stares into a plastic toy mirror. His reflection is in focus, but obscured by a sticker of a storm cloud.

  4. Open
    Black and white photo of my chest and neck in an open, button-up shirt with vertical stripes. The collar of the shirt casts a shadow with chest hair showing in the light.

  5. And You Shall Be Healed
    My right hand dispenses testosterone gel into my left palm. Black and white photo with flash.

  6. Natural
    Black and white photo of my arm, palm down, reaching through and resting in tall grass with focus to wrist.

  7. Life-Giving
    Black and white, double exposure self-portrait in a hole in the woods—one version of myself is in the hole, on the left with eyes closed and arm outstretched across the ground. At the center, another me sits on the edge of the hole with hands raised and palms up.

  8. Catch!
    Two childhood photos of myself with a bowl cut stand against a black backdrop. Little me is playing catch. The Tommy doll is between and facing the photos, out of focus in the foreground. Black and white photo.

  9. Three of Me
    Self-portrait shaving—one strip of shaving cream is gone so far. I am out of focus on the left side, standing in the foreground. My two reflections in the mirror are in focus. They have dark hair, light skin, and are wearing a striped polo.

  10. Throughline
    Self-portrait as a blur, twirling on my childhood swing set. I am wearing a pink cowboy hat and a checkered dress with blue and green boots. Trees cast dark shadows across the green grass.

  11. Watching Over
    Color photo of Tommy standing close to a pink disco ball in tall grass. My hand reaches out to them in the reflection of the disco ball.

  12. Rooted in Clouds
    Double exposure self portrait in color—I lean against a tree in a small strip of woods, wearing a dark green t-shirt and shorts. My right foot rests on a tree stump. Clouds appear lightly across the image from a shot of the sky.

  13. Wannabe King Baby
    A clay sculpture of DJT as a raging baby. He sits in a high-chair throne made of broken toys, spray painted gold, and adorned with the McDonald’s arches. An upside-down US flag forms the backdrop. Color photo with a doubling effect from a prism.