Trance, Queer People and Their Dogs Subject in Toronto Photo Exhibition

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Trans man Lucas Silveira, former leader of Toronto alternative rock band The Cricks, says the bond between queer and trans people and their rescue dogs is strong .

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Silveira, a solo music artist since 2016, and his Chihuahua mix, Mercy, are among the people photographed in the new exhibit Don’t You Want Me, which highlights their bond.

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“Many transgender and queer people have many who have little contact with their families or who reject them, and many find solace and companionship with animals,” he said. Silveira said: Self-released solo activities, Goddamn Flower.

“I know a lot of transgender people and queer people, whether they’re cats or dogs or guinea pigs. They live alone in the world and what they had was companionship. “They were just our pets,” he added. “So I think of them as little balls of fur that really save lives. I see it as a source of love, helping trans people, giving them hope, and giving them a reason to survive.”

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This exhibition by dog ​​photographer Jack Jackson will be on display at the Toronto Humane Society (THS) on River Street until the end of the year.

Silveira came out as transgender in 2006 (the year she publicly announced she was the first transgender to be signed to a major label) and began hormone replacement therapy in 2009. .

“My family is a miracle,” he said. “It’s very rare to have a family that raised me Christian or Portuguese or old school, but my parents have always been incredible and very different from any other parents I’ve known. was

“I knew a lot of Portuguese parents who tried to kick me out of my family and home,” he added. “I would have been shunned. you are our child

Yet Mercy, the epileptic special needs dog Silveira inherited from a stressed-out friend six years ago, is a really important part of his life.

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“She is my moral support,” said Silveira, who rescued three dogs from THS. “It’s incredible what a dog can do in your life.”

Jackson, who is also transgender, is interviewing and photographing more transgender and queer people and their rescue dogs throughout the month of December, and is working towards a book and documentary.