“Making images is healing,” says Jesse Glazzard about his ongoing body of work Testo Diary, in which he documents his life as a trans man, from top surgery and taking testosterone to the euphoria of feeling at home in himself for the first time. Glazzard never intended to record his journey. Yet, he started taking pictures with encouragement from his partner Nora to help distract him from post-surgery pain and discomfort. The result is a tender and intimate body of work that demonstrates the transformative power of photography to exteriorise our inner worlds.

In many ways, Testo Diary offers Glazzard a way to see himself, his relationships and his evolution with greater agency and liberation in a climate where the need for trans imagery marked with compassion and nuance remains urgent. “When you look back through history, there is very little photography about trans people,” Glazzard says when I ask him about his motivations to make the work. “I didn’t have any cultural reference points growing up. I’ve made [Testo Diary] to be seen – it’s for the community.”