Walter Schels. trans* | Magazin (Blick ins Buch)

SUBTLE METAMORPHOSES
In his long-term study trans*, Walter Schels shows the process of becoming one with oneself.
By Beate Lakotta
Leonie was the first transgirl to visitWalter Schels in his studio.
In the fall of 2013, she came accompanied by her mother; it was
early evening and we sat together at the big table. Walter served
coffee and cookies. The objective was to get to know each other,
to get a feel for each other. Earlier, a mutual friend, a doctor, had
asked Walter if he would like to document the development of
some of his patients. The renowned hormone expert has been
treating transgender teenagers for many years. Boys who were
born in the body of girls, and girls like Leonie who were born as
boys. He helps them align their bodies with their perceived gender
identity.
What the doctor told us sparked our curiosity. Walter, who
has almost consistently turned down portrait requests of all
kinds for many years, wanted to get involved in this long-term
project. The idea was, at specific intervals, to photographically
record the transformation from the gender at birth to the “correct”
gender. The young people, who traveled from all over
Germany with their parents to see the endocrinologist in Hamburg,
would now combine their doctor’s appointment with a
visit to the photographer, or at least that was the idea. Of course,
the parents would be present when the photos were taken and
would also have to give their consent, because all those portrayed
were initially minors.
A little later, Leonie, then 14 years old and physically still
one hundred percent male, stood in front of Walter’s camera
for the first time. At first Walter took his signature portraits –
black and white, medium format, en face, direct gaze, few
facial expressions. Then he let Leonie take the reins. Leonie
beamed confidently into the camera, tousled her corkscrew
curls, tried out poses, going from cute to drama queen. Her
career aspiration, which was entirely age-appropriate, was to
become an actor or a model. When Leonie and her mother
departed, Walter and I were dumbfounded. If we had met Leonie
without knowing her story, we would never have thought that
she could be anything other than – a girl.
In the meantime, the series has grown to include portraits
of nearly 30 transgirls and boys. The youngest participant was
eleven years old when the first picture was taken, and the oldest,
Lias, is now 23. The moment of amazement at the first
encounter has remained the same: Ben, Leonie, Felix, Fynn,
Sofia, Marie – they are all completely authentic. Clothing,
body language, manner of speaking. Transgirls tilt their heads
girlishly, transboys first stand in front of the camera with their
arms crossed.
These are, formally speaking, conservative photographs:
girls’ faces, boys’ faces looking into the camera without smiling.
An even, flat light determines the character of this series
– like that of most series Walter Schels has photographed. So
what is special about these pictures? Most viewers are perplexed
at first. Only when they learn what is hidden behind the
portraits are they surprised, confused and subsequently often
touched. Many ask about the “before and after system” in the
series. They expect the transition from one gender to the other
Parents tell of bitter fights with three-year-olds
in front of the closet
to be clearly recognizable in the external appearance. But that is not
the case with these young people; these are subtle metamorphoses.
Long before they began treatment most bore little resemblance
to the gender listed on their ID card. Some never did.
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