Zach Toppin, ‘Baby’, 2026, oil on canvas, 30.5 x 40.5 cm
Miłość is excited to announce the first solo exhibition of Zach Toppin, ‘Still Beginning’, presenting a new series of still lives whicharchive the personal lives of twelve of his trans masc community members: JJ, Libro, Romeo, Wet Mess, Kae, Sabah, Helios, Yasser, Baby, Osian, Marlo, and himself, honouring the precious objects of affirmation that work to build a trans life.
These still lives become essential portraits, a personal semiotics of a shaping and grounding of identity and individuality. They queer the idea of portraiture, taking away its physical body to refuse the societal intrusive obsession with trans bodies; they are portraits of spirit.
Within the constant journeying of transition, objects remain anchors while being charged with something supernatural. Zach manipulates perspective and proportions, tracing the shift from realist still lives to soulful portraits. The mundane becomes magical, the ordinary becomes extraordinary, as both everyday and unique objects become treasured tools of transformation, vehicles of self-expression. They make tools for living as trans in a heteropatriarchal society that attempts to deny, silence and oppress.
Miłość is excited to participate for the first time in the Art-o-rama art fair in Marseille, presenting a duo booth of Douglas Cantor and Sophie Vallance Cantor, ‘It’s you and me baby’, premiering their new collaborative film.
La Cartonnerie, le grand Plateau, le petit Plateau Friche la Belle de Mai
Marseille France
Friday, August 28, 2026
11am – 4pm: VIP Preview for VIP Cardholders
4pm – 9pm: Public opening.