Jitendra Jerry

GOD IS TRANS is the debut publication by Indian photographer Jitendra Jerry, documenting the Koovagam Festival in Tamil Nadu through a combination of portraiture, documentary photography and fashion imagery.

Rooted in traditions of ritual, devotion and collective expression, the festival brings together transgender and third-gender communities each year for a period of celebration, mourning and transformation. Jerry’s photographs move between communal ceremonies and intimate encounters, examining how identity is expressed and negotiated through the body, dress, gesture and gaze.

At a time when transgender communities continue to face discrimination and marginalisation, both in India and internationally, the Koovagam Festival offers a rare space of cultural and religious recognition. Here, transgender identity is not merely visible but forms an integral part of the festival’s rituals, celebrations and traditions.

Rather than presenting the festival solely as a visual spectacle, GOD IS TRANS explores its wider social and cultural significance as a space of belonging, self-expression and collective identity. Through a distinctive use of colour, intimacy and theatricality, the publication considers the relationship between visibility, representation and selfhood, revealing how individual experiences intersect with shared traditions and community.

125x175 cm, Softcover, 52 pages.