I Am Other (Candy & Me)


2007—2008


HD video 11 mins, colour/sound, c-print, photogram. Made in collaboration with Andy Candy.
—I refuse to be that lonely scared, vulnerable and tragic transperson. I refuse to be a victim.

I Am Other (Candy & Me)
is a paraphrase of the American artist Peter Hujar’s (1934—1987) iconic photograph Candy Darling on Her Death Bed from 1974. Conny Karlsson Lundgren’s and Andy Candy’s collaborative work, which is also based on the actress Candy Darling’s (1944—1974) diaries and Andy Candy’s own medical records, addresses the need to resist normative expectations of family and society. 

The video shows Andy Candy—just like Candy Darling in Hujar’s photograph—looking into the camera from a hospital bed, surrounded by roses and peonies. From a voice over she reads a statement about the labelling of trans people, underlining the limitations of identities, roles and names prescribed by society. “I refuse to be that lonely scared, vulnerable and tragic trans person. I refuse to be a victim,” she says, referring to the photograph. She admits, however, that sometimes there is no other choice than playing those roles and to be able to reject an image we need to acknowledge that it exists. 

The work navigates the complexity by centering Andy Candy’s subjective experiences inside Hujar’s portrayal of Candy Darling. In this way, the work extends across time and urges trans people to political liberation through the power of naming while claiming difference as a source of strength.


I Am Other (Candy & Me), film still. Cinematography: Ulf Lundén.
I Am Other (Candy & Me), excerpt 3 mins (full lengt 10.20 mins). Cinematography: Ulf Lundén.
I Am Other (Candy & Me), Installation view, Bonniers Konsthall, 2024. Photo: Jean-Baptiste Béranger.
I Am Other (Candy & Me) Andy’s Closet, c-print.
I Am Other (Candy & Me) Andy’s Closet and Andy Candy Darling,  Installation view, Bonniers Konsthall, 2024. Photo: Jean-Baptiste Béranger,
I Am Other (Candy & Me) Costume, textile.
I Am Other (Candy & Me) Andy Candy Darling, photogram.
I Am Other (Candy & Me) in Lost and Found: Queerying the Archive at Nikolaj Kunsthal, 2009. 


Text and Performer: Andy Candy. Director and Editing: Conny Karlsson Lundgren. Cinematography and Grading: Ulf Lundén. Sound: Jesper Norda. Costume: Malou Öjes. Styling: Mattias Petterson. Assistant: Maria Lönn. Translation: Sara Jordenö.
Special Thanks: Sveriges Television Göteborg, Kokokaka, Sara Stridsberg, Nicolas Hasselqvist, Andreas Kittel.Exhibitions: Den Frie Udstillingsbygning, Copenhagen DK. Nikolaj Kunsthal, Copenhagen DK.Gallery Sprinkler, Öland SE. Lilith, Malmö SE. Bildmuseet, Umeå SE. Bonniers Konsthall, Stockholm SE. Screenings: Göteborg Film Festival, Gothenburg SE.


 ©MMXIV Conny Karlsson Lundgren