“Is gender of primary importance in an encounter? Does our behaviour depend on the other person’s gender? Through this project, I want to show other ways of discovering someone and deepening an encounter before questioning their gender.”- Steph Exanne
In French, “Sylves A-genres” is a pun that can be translated as “Agender forest spirits” or “Forest spirits with various genders”, which perfectly describes our first blurred perception of them.
Steph Exanne, a French self-taught photographer, creates queer stories to expand the collective imagination. They use floral extensions as a medium to externalize human sensations, personalities and emotions. The staging of the fantastic before the shot is paramount in his art, giving his photographs the role of witness without the need for digital post-processing.
Take a moment to meet the Sylves, fantastic beings with the ability to express their nature and emotion through floral extensions. Every petal, pistil or stamen, every leaf or thorn responds to their will, like a transhumanist figure reinforcing their expressions. There is no point in trying to define their gender. No one would ask that question of a flower. Why is it so important when it comes to human beings? Precisely, the categorization between masculine and feminine seems to be what matters: the questioning won’t stop until everything fits into one of these binary boxes. So, how else can we define ourselves as non-binary? Is it a third box? Meeting Sylves is all about discovering unique people.
Non-binary expresses a need for gender freedom. The feminine and masculine genders are commonly perceived as the essence of the social roles and behaviours attributed to each sex. That is if only two sexes can be considered. Because biological expressions are varied and more complex than a binary model as well. These two genders, even if less and less restrictive over time, remain mandatory starting points that are assigned at birth. This dichotomy persists in language, especially in French, where even a table has a gender. Non-binary allows for a neutral category, a blending or a rejection of binary genders. It’s a way to deconstruct the commonly spread idea of a link between sex and gender.
Photography & Make up by Steph Exanne / www.stephexanne.com / Instagram: @stephexanne
Models are:
Natrix / Instagram: @natrix.srn
Mekias / Instagram: @mekiasmusik
Arnaud Peiffer / Instagram: @arnaudpeiffer
Alexia Vic / Instagram: @alexia_vic_model
Matamore Occhio / Instagram: @matamore.occhio
Vesper Quinn / Instagram: @vesperquinn
Rina / Instagram: @occa.rina
Sol / Instagram: @bel.du.seigneur
Loan Bodin Bürger / Instagram: @loanbodinburger
Laura & Anonymous
Harmony971 / Instagram: @Harmony971
Zoé / Instagram: @zoe.btms
Victoria Dickens Wilde / Instagram: @dwvictoria
Haku F / Instagram: @haku_bestiole
Célia / Instagram: @foxyarte
Axel / Instagram: @ranaxelito
Soraya M / Instagram: @so.rayamounir
Zoé Klein / Instagram: @zoécrevisse
Chuck Yooh / Instagram: @chuck_model_so
Cyril Pyrrhos / Instagram: @cpyrrhos
Steph Exanne / Instagram: @stephexanne
Jeanne / Instagram: @etiennejeannot_
