Between Rooms – Internal Monologue
Why does he remind me of me?
Not the face. Not the body. Something else.
That way of holding back without disappearing.
That quiet way of observing everything.
Is this how I looked when I didn’t know what to call it yet?
When I wanted to be invisible but also held?
When I hated being seen the wrong way
And still, wanted someone to look?
He moves like someone who’s trying to stay soft
In a world that keeps asking for edges.
I keep wondering if he’s scared.
If he feels safe with them.
If he knows they see him—not just the version the world offers, but all the pieces.
I wish I had that.
I wish I’d seen someone like him back then.
Or someone like me now.
What would I have felt?
Less alone?
Or more real?
Maybe this is what healing looks like.
Not fixing.
Just watching…
"Between Rooms" is a photographic study of the in-between. Between childhood and adolescence, between homes, between who you are and who the world expects you to be. At its center are a trans boy and his queer, non-binary parent, who relocated to Berlin after being forced to leave Uganda. Through them, I explored what it means to create space for yourself, for your truth, and for each other when the world refuses to do so.
The project engages with themes of queerness, gender fluidity, chosen family, protection, and the architecture of love. Working intuitively, I spent time across multiple visits, building trust. Slowly, the boundaries fall, reviling natural light, real moments, and their own pace.
"Between Rooms" grew from personal recognition. As a child, I moved through the world questioning gender, carrying a shapeshifting sense of self. In them, I recognized echoes of my own memories.
This project deepened my commitment to storytelling rooted in care, intimacy, and presence. It taught me that photography is not only about capturing fleeting moments but also about staying long enough to truly witness them.
