Statement

When I work with photography, I am reminded that art is woven within our everyday lives. If the human life is a complex web of choices, how do we come to make the choices we make? Do our choices only impact our own lives? If not, in whose hands does the fate of the outcome lie? For me, the choices we make are a matter of allowing the human energy that flows through our life, both consciously and unconsciously, to be un-caged and transformed into art.

I begin a piece by deconstructing an event, an issue, or a concept to its core structure to better understand why and how it functions. For me, photography captures life in real time and preserves it in that same pure form—a way no other form of art can. Photography has the ability to be kept pure and honest, or it can be manipulated to a point where the line between fine art and digital art can no longer be recognized. Further still, photography is highly volatile in regard to its processes. Its volatility is beneficial when reflecting upon issues, such as human choices that contain no definitive answers, for instance, if I choose to work two hours later today, can I be assured I will not be injured in an automobile accident? No one knows. No one knows if one choice is better than another or if we have already chosen what we are going to do, before we are even posed with the options. After spending some time thinking about these issues, I start to create a new understanding about life, humanity, and the journeys we take through images.

Additionally, when my work is progressing favorably, I’m filled with a sense of relief and happiness. I feel mentally, physically, and emotionally complete. My current work is a direct reflection upon my recent life experiences. Through my art, I reflect upon the personal decisions I’ve made over the last few years.  My decisions have resulted in challenges (both positive and negative), and my artistic abilities have allowed me to grow and learn about who I am as a person. Through my work I am exploring the ideas of whether or not my life would be different had I made different choices or if the choices others have made in their lives determined my fate as well.

Moreover, when people see and experience my work, I want them to realize that my work is connected to their own lives, not just the abstract world. Although my work may appear complex, my problems, fears, anxieties, and joys, are the same as everyone else’s. I am attempting to also show the viewer that we all as humanity antagonize and reflect upon the “what if’s” in life. We all wish we had done things differently in our lives at one point in time and wonder how differently our lives would be shaped had we taken that path instead. Although the process in which I utilize photography changes, the meaning and themes, that being the complex web of choices throughout the human life, remains true to itself.