The Muscle. What gives strength. This sewn-together sheet combines imagery of invented creatures, each representing the closest bonds, repeated imagery of the bull and the horse and grandfathers, and heat-pressed imagery from his parents and when he was a child, along with letters that were life-altering. This sheet is the last layer of protection, guarding the real self; they have all seen before and now witness the after.
Sheet I
Sheet II
Sheet III
Sheet IV
TRANSEXUAL
SHELLS
55555
GRANDPATERNAL
UNEXPERIENCED
NOSTALGIA
five
LOVE
TRANSEXUAL
MASCULINITY
5
HORSE
BODY
MAN
GOD
LOVE
1 2 3 4 5
BROTHER
TRANSEXUAL
BROTHER
SHELL
FIVE
WHAT MAKES A MAN
Blending the imagery from 1980s American magazines, his grandfathers, his brother, and his own created monoprinted creatures, What Makes A Man explores Dyllan’s Transgender experience and the complications that come with creating his own Queer manhood in a culture surrounded by toxic masculinity. Five sheets hang as Dyllan's five layers of skin, each sheet slowly moving towards his self-portrait on the wall, him using his own skin as protection in his unexperienced nostalgia of boyhood.
2025, Graphite powder, acrylic ink, and image transfer on assorted hand-dyed fabrics and rice paper. Hung with handmade wooden brackets. Adorned with an Abalone Shell. 9 x 7.5 feet.
Displayed at The School Of The Art Institute’s Spring 2025 Bachelor of Fine Arts Show