Two decades ago, before it was fashionable and even marginally safe, photographer Trix Rosen had begun exploring gender fluidity with performance artist, Fred Koenig. Now sexual bravery is all the rage.

“HE/SHE,” Rosen’s sensuous book of photographs of Koenig, showcases their daring bond of friendship and art. It depicts a vision of gender authenticity and empowers being be true to yourself. The images challenge the viewer to enter into their world and cross over limitations of imagination and desire.

“HE/SHE” opens in 1996 with the “The Sea Change,” as Koenig morphs into an androgynous mermaid/merman who has washed up on the sand. For “Shadowy World of Dreams,” photographed in 2016, Koenig portrays an older, still handsome and beautiful figure, who may be looking back at his glittering past or towards the light of a dazzling future. The 44 black and white and color images remind us that an individual’s gender embodiment is not fixed, and can change throughout one’s life, or even throughout the day.

“HE/SHE” celebrates the right to self-identify anywhere along the gender path and goes right to the heart of redefining masculine and feminine representation.