Artist’s Statement

I am interested in the intersections between language, culture, and identity. I aim for my art to inspire questions, curiosity, and a sharing of stories. The open and discursive space of contemporary portraiture naturally allows for this exchange of dialogue to occur. Identity is a flexible concept that is heavily influenced by our sense of community, and the construction of language. Our self-identities are constituted within the boundaries of the language that we speak and the notions that it engenders within us. However, because language is unstable with a fluidity of meaning, within the act of speaking meaning is both created and crystallized. Therefore, as the dialogue moves from one partner to the other, constantly mutating and creating new shades of meaning, our understanding of ourselves, too, expands and contracts in tandem with the flow of conversation.

Additionally, in the act of portraiture, the sitter consciously acknowledges the gaze of the other, and therefore adjusts his or her projected self-image accordingly. The outward appearance of every individual is already a representation of that individual’s current perceived inner-self projected into the public. As an artist, I am simply re-representing that projection. This continuous process of self-reflection and re-interpretation is one that we all go through on a daily basis as we interact with others, but are often unaware of. Therefore, by making this action more transparent, it opens up the possibility of talking about self-identity in a thoughtful way. I am interested not in making portraits that contain a core of truth, but in having conversations that open up questions about the complexity of self-identification.

These dialogical portraits are created through a collaborative mechanism, reflecting the process’s natural layering of representations and interpretations. Our conversations create a fictive space, allowing the sitter to assume various personas as well as construct an alternate reality where the perceived real and the imagined merge. The resulting portraits reference existing images and media that have been imprinted in the memories of the sitter, myself, and the viewer. This is what allows all three participants to agree upon visual conventions, while simultaneously allowing for a play of interpretations based upon personal experience and exposure. By investigating these territories through portraiture and the sharing of stories, I hope to create opportunities for building relationships, and to increase our capacity to recognize and celebrate our shared humanity.