Trans Suicides Are Political: Zirve Soylu

This piece captures the essence of a Show & Tell artist session at the 2nd Global Audiovisual Archiving (GAVA) Conference, where I presented two video essays, provenance: ‘zirve’ and value: Zirve Soylu. These works critically reimagine two fundamental archival principles—provenance and value—from a trans perspective. Functioning as both an artistic intervention in archival discourse and a tribute to Zirve Soylu—a trans woman, sex worker, and activist who died by suicide in 2022—they explore the role of archives in preserving trans histories and challenging systemic erasure.