The Loss of the Known

O'Brien's personal identity as a member of the LGBTQ+ community has informed the content of her work and shaped her personal reality. O'Brien has watched many friends, peers, and lovers bury the gender identity they were raised to be, and blossom into the person they are today. While this transition is critical and necessary, it often feels like a loss to parents and friends, as well as lovers. This body of work explores the tension surrounding transition, and how the 'death' and mourning of one identity, create an anxious birth to another.