about
Born and raised in the Seattle area, I am a lens-based artist who works with alternative process and digital photography, bookmaking, performance, set design, and video art.
Visually deciphering spatial and bodily scripts, and the variation in our behavioral and mental processing in public and private spheres is the central theme of my research. What are the individual and collective experiences that inform our perception of certain spaces? Furthermore, how does this perception inform our perception of others? I examine these questions through a therapeutic lens and frequently perform in my work. As an extension of "Parts Work," a method that fractures the self into different parts —the inner child, partner, educator, the part experiencing mania or depression— I construct sets to perform in and disguise myself with costumes and props to investigate inner realities in contrast to the external world. How does my body and mind react to this versus that and who is allowed to see those reactions?
Recently, the space I am most interested in is home, specifically, within Suburbia. The manicured lawns and generic paint schemes feel just as performative as the deeply embedded social scripts intended to establish ourselves in a hierarchy of me and better-than-you. While Suburbia's social landscape plays with our perception of ourselves and others, spatially, these places could be anywhere, lacking uniqueness and any sense of belonging. Characteristically, they're nowhere. The performative nature of Suburbia is inviting to my own system of making. While performance aids in unpacking inner realities, I approach the physical photograph as a container. Much like a house, I often employ building materials such as bricks, wood, and concrete to emphasize the tactile nature of our experiences. While we traverse the day-to-day internally and externally, I ask, what are the things we carry and what do we bring home with us?
