Photo Project: In Process by Sujit Nair | Trans-formation of a Drag queen

That photo project, captured by Sujit Nair, holds a very intimate place in my journey as a drag artist. It was not just a series of portraits—it was documentation of transformation in its most vulnerable and powerful form. The camera did not merely photograph a finished drag persona; it followed the in-between moments. The half-drawn eyebrow. The contour still unblended. The lashes waiting to be placed. The silence before the character emerges.

The process of becoming a drag queen is ritualistic. It begins with bare skin—sometimes tired, sometimes unsure—and slowly builds into something intentional, exaggerated, political, and poetic. The foundation becomes a mask and a revelation at the same time. Contour sharpens not just cheekbones, but confidence. Lipstick is not color; it is declaration. Sujit beautifully captured these stages—each stroke of makeup like a sentence in a larger story. The lighting was soft yet deliberate, highlighting textures: the powder settling into skin, the shimmer catching the light, the transformation unfolding in layers.

What makes this project special is that it does not romanticize only the final glamour shot. It honors the labour. The patience. The discipline behind drag. It shows that drag is architecture—built line by line, shade by shade. The portraits feel almost meditative. They invite the viewer to sit with the becoming rather than just the being.

Alongside the visual narrative was an essay that reflected on this act of transformation—not as disguise, but as discovery. Drag, in this context, becomes a mirror. Each step of makeup becomes an exploration of gender, expression, and power. The project suggests that drag is not about hiding who you are, but about amplifying truths that everyday life often suppresses.

In many ways, this series becomes a conversation between artist and lens—between the self that is and the self that dares to emerge.