TOO DYSLEXIC TO JOURNAL, TOO EMOTIONAL TO NOT

BY IFY EKEMEZIE

LAYERED was created in memory of Leia - a space built to honour trans and non-binary creativity in all its textures, contradictions, softness, and power. It’s a project shaped by lived experience, and by the artists who bring that experience into the world on their own terms.

Ify (they/them) explores this beautifully in their collage TOO DYSLEXIC TO JOURNAL, TOO EMOTIONAL TO NOT. Like the medium itself, the work is layered: fragments of thought, moments, and emotions stacked atop one another, each element visible yet intertwined. Nails that “make me feel like a Spring Flower,” mirror selfies that document growth and self-perception, the chaotic joy of “The Rat Mafia at Boomtown,” and the playful intimacy of “Dear Diary, today I played outside with my friends” - all come together to form a textured, living record.

The collage becomes a metaphor for memory, emotion, and identity: pieces of self arranged in a way that doesn’t need to be linear or perfect to hold truth. Each layer is a choice, a feeling, a story - and together they create a space where vulnerability, humour, and lived experience coexist.

We’re proud to share the full TOO DYSLEXIC TO JOURNAL, TOO EMOTIONAL TO NOT story here on F Word Online, giving this story a permanent digital home now that the print issue is nearly gone. To hold one of the last remaining copies in your hands, you can purchase it HERE