trans//face, “a new exhibition by photographer and activist An Xiao explor[ing] the lives and words of survivors of anti-transgender violence and their allies,” opened yesterday at Bluestockings Bookstore in New York City.

In striking portraits of transgender and queer New Yorkers in their daily environments, Xiao captures this sense of inhumanity and helplessness by blindfolding her subjects, who stare back at the viewer blankly as city life rushes by. Prose and poems written by participants accompany the photos in her installations.

The show ends on December 3rd. See some of the exhibition photos here.

You can find Maria on MySpace here and read her current call for essays on femme identity here. Pick up Queer Shorts, her new anthology, at MergePress.com.