EVA MUELLER GENDER FUCK | BROOKLYN, NY

Eva Mueller’s artistry has always existed in a state of fluidity, much like the identities and moments she captures through her lens. Selected for the FOTO(grafia) 2025 exhibitions at Centro Cultural Juan Rulfo and the Clavo Movimiento Art Fair during Art Week CDMX, Mueller’s work continues to challenge and expand the boundaries of portrait photography and queer representation. This feature dives into her artistic evolution, her reflections on queerness, and the narratives her work amplifies.

Mueller’s beginnings in Bushwick in the early 2010s were a turning point—a leap from fashion photography to a more introspective exploration of identity and community. “When I moved into my studio, the environment was like a match to gasoline,” she recalls. “Art was everywhere, and that energy catapulted me into taking my practice seriously.” That ignition led to her now-renowned series, Gender Fuck, a project that juxtaposes drag performance with raw vulnerability, stripping away artifice to reveal an authentic interplay between constructed and innate identities.

“At first, I was photographing drag performers in full regalia,” Mueller explains. “But then I thought—what if we remove one element? A wig, a chest covering. The resulting images sit in a twilight zone, between personas, and that really intrigued me.” Her subjects, often balancing the exaggerated femininity of drag with their unadorned selves, create a visual dialogue about gender performance, identity, and self-perception.

Reflecting on the series years later, Mueller’s perspective has evolved. “I still love those images, but there was so much I didn’t understand at the time. Showing them now feels like revisiting an old friend with new eyes.” This self-awareness underscores her ethos as an artist: constant evolution. “We’re always in transition as humans,” she muses. “To deny that others have the ability to transition—in gender, in selfhood—is to deny our collective humanity.”

Among the standout works in Gender Fuck are images that capture deeply personal narratives, like a transman posed with an almost saintly reverence. “It’s a powerful portrait,” she says. “At first glance, he’s just a beautiful man. Then you notice the top surgery scars, and it challenges what you think you’re seeing.” Another piece, featuring a transwoman from Egypt with blood symbolically running down her body, honors the resilience forged through immense struggle. “She transitioned in the U.S. after surviving unimaginable persecution in Cairo,” Mueller shares. “That image—it’s raw, challenging, but essential to the series.”

While her work often centers queerness, Mueller is acutely aware of the broader cultural resonance. “Art isn’t just about making something beautiful. It’s about making something truthful,” she asserts. Her photographs invite viewers to question their assumptions, not only about gender but about the very act of seeing.

Mueller’s participation in Art Week CDMX comes at a critical moment. “In this political climate, visibility is more vital than ever,” she says. “Queer communities globally are facing renewed challenges, and art has the power to both document and defy.” Her presence in Mexico City—a city she describes as “progressive yet complex”—is a testament to the universal language of art and its ability to foster understanding across borders.

The exhibitions in Mexico mark a continuation of a relationship that began during the pandemic when Mueller’s work was first shown by The Bureau of Queer Art. “Those early days were about survival and discovery,” she reflects. “I was just coming to terms with my nonbinary identity. It’s incredible to look back and see how far both my work and I have come.”

Mueller’s images do more than capture moments; they encapsulate journeys, both hers and her subjects’. As she prepares to share her work with an international audience, her hope is clear: “I want people to engage, to question, to see themselves reflected in the work. Because at the end of the day, art isn’t about the artist—it’s about the viewer.”

With her lens trained on the intersections of identity, culture, and resilience, Eva Mueller continues to illuminate the complexities of being human in a world still learning how to see.