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halogen logo w:trademark - transparent

Create more life givers that tether to the soul.

Halogen uses visual art to create innovative and proactive suicide awareness resources for Black and Brown trans communities.

These resources are books, trading cards, documentaries, photography, and more.

DISCLAIMER:

Halogen's resources and Halogen in its totality are not guaranteed, sponsored, clinical, or certified suicide prevention resources, care programs, counseling services, or social and health services. 

Halogen in its totality is an alternative and exploratory project into broad mental health - all content, including but not limited to text, graphics, images, and other materials does not constitute legal, financial, medical, or professional advice. Use of Halogen in its totality is at your own risk. 

Halogen disclaims any liability for any direct, indirect, incidental, or consequential loss or damage incurred as a result ofreliance on the information contained herein. This includes, but not limited to staff, collaborators, fiscal sponsors, persons, individuals, donors, investors, associates, and partners of Halogen. 

By using and engaging with Halogen, you acknowledge and agree to these terms. If you require specific legal or professional advice, please consult a qualified professional in the relevant field. 

At the Borderline of Time

At the borderline of time,

suicide forced me to come face to face with the things I loved most. Importantly, what I loved most about myself - my soul (growth, maturity, decay). We have as much to learn about death as we do life. This is the essential “isness”.

The literal translation of Halogen is “salt-producer” - coming from Greek roots hals “salt” and gen “giving birth to”. Salt is a preservative, a healing agent, a fertilizer, a moving force when things come in contact with it, and the oldest embalming chemical. Halogens are extremely reactive and electronegative - meaning the smaller the atom, the less distance and the stronger ability to attract electrons to it in a bond.

At Halogen, our lifework is suicide awareness in Black and Brown trans communities through visual art. We are creating life givers in story stewardship with gentleness, beauty, and invigorating rawness - the preservation of joy, isness, reunion, and the documentation of another day lived.

For these trans communities, Halogen is a space to explore their soul and the softness, emotiveness, and sweeping genuineness of it. For the viewer, Halogen is an invitation into reimaging their relationship with themselves and a way to experience someone’s soul.

The viewer plays a crucial role in suicide prevention as they’re a witness to the soul and therefore can aid in uplifting and elevating life - becoming life givers themselves.

The closer we are to observing the truth of the soul, the more life we attract.

© Remy Styrk 2025

HALOGEN

I am traveling the United States, then internationally, to learn about different beliefs on death, the self, and preservation from Black and Brown cultures - documenting through photography, video, ethnography, and interviews.

The first resource for Halogen will be a book that highlights the difference between meeting someone’s soul and meeting someone’s body. It will be distributed to libraries, nonprofits, therapists, treatment centers, community centers, and more.

Learning about different beliefs on death and preservation can help us center more of what fulfills us and our legacy in the living world - especially around the soul. Eventually, removing the polarities of "life" and "death".

Halogen Sample (2022)

Health Statement🌐

Black and Brown trans people need equitable access to safe, accessible, life-affirming, and expressive resources that promote whole self representation, well-being, and culture. Historically - and notably now - these resources have been systemically obstructed and deliberately diminished.

Halogen is committed to progressing this vital advocacy in a thoughtful, digestible, and growth-focused practice that prioritizes the safety and empowerment of Black and Brown trans communities.

Structural, interpersonal, internalized, and institutional racism erases the intersectionality of Black and Brown trans communities, forcing them to choose between the different parts of their identities. That creates camouflaging thus further feeding a state of survival - a direct attack on sense of self, the ability to access joy and representation, and the ability to imagine and actualize an autonomous and fulfilling life sustainably.

Bias and racism are seen throughout human services, social services, health care, community programs, and schools - all key components in suicide awareness and suicide awareness education.

HALOGEN

HALOGEN

HALOGEN

Preliminary Learnings

The soul is made up of three parts - growth, maturity, decay. Death is a process of decay and it’s through growth and maturity, we learn about the decay and its movements.

Culturally, death has many beliefs surrounding it from it being an extension of life in a different age group to the end of everything. Overall, it is a significant factor in how life flows - a significant factor in movement.

EVALUATION AND ASSESSMENT

The main research methodology will be a qualitative methodology. It is exploratory in nature consisting of autoethnography and ethnography. I will use ethnography to document my findings through visual, text based, and audio interviews and observations.

I will use autoethnography and ethnography to document how my own views on death and the soul progress and evolve in my own suicide prevention. I will use this to track my relationship with the people I interview and my experience in doing this research. This acts as a documentation of the documentation.

HALOGEN

Book

The first resource to be released through Halogen is a book.

The main idea behind the book is at the broadest level, trans is about where the soul needs to occupy to live the most sustainable, healthy, engaging, fulfilling, and sense of self focused life. It is more focused on the difference between meeting one's soul versus meeting their physical body. The book will feature the transcripts of the interviews I conduct along with my enthography mixed in.

The book will go to partner locations for free. Book partners consist of non-profits, community centers, therapist offices, and public libraries all over the United States that serve Black and Brown trans communities of all ages, with an emphasis on the North Sound region and Puget Sound region. Additionally, with an emphasis on the 16-24 range.

In addition to the book, partners will receive:

  • collaborative networking and brainstorming with other partners through convenings
  • custom trainings and presentations for staff on the work of Halogen

Alongside going to partners for free, the book will be available for purchase for community members and those who wish to support the project independently.

I believe that print media preserves humans.

HALOGEN

Audience + Impact

Systemic change and power building to me is being able to reimagine the heritability of trauma and misrepresentation to participate in situational betterment, whole picture betterment, and capturing the world through the lenses of intersectionality. It is the act of seeing someone doing what you want to do to even imagine it being possible. When we give people a platform, it creates conformity. When we give people voice, it creates community.

I feel the most “belonged” when I can be a viewer and engager of the soul. Using my background in music, art, education, and social work, I use storytelling to explore Black and Brown culture and identity as a proverb; the ceremony of discovery, observing, and holding Black and Browness. To be an effective change-maker, I must take care of myself. I can create more life-givers, by giving life to myself.

While Halogen is not the end-all-be-all, it is directly created from my small corner of the world in the complete knowledge of the impact I know my art has. Ultimately systemic change and power building begins with getting to know your neighbors. 

Impact Goals:

  • To highlight the softness, emotiveness, and sweeping genuineness of Black and Brown trans communities while starting the conversations around breaking down the stigmas of suicide and suicide prevention - emphasizing that suicide prevention is not solely a late stage crisis management action. It is affirming folks in who they were, who they are, and who they are becoming every step of the way.
  • Create more life-givers by empowering people to dive in deeper with their loved ones, friends, strangers and view their soul first rather than their body.
HALOGEN

Want to become a partner?

1. Book and resource partners

  • Are you a non-profit, library, therapist, or any community based group that’s interested in having the book available at your location?

Please click button below to fill out form to be added to distribution partner list, learn more about the project, and stay up to date on release dates.

Click Here

2. Donate

You can donate directly to support Halogen. Please click button below to go to campaign page.

Click Here

Halogen is fiscally sponsored by Chuckanut Health Foundation

CHF Logo_color_transparent (1)

© Remy Styrk 2025

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