Artist Statement
Since beginning my artistic education I have sought the use of the camera to produce tangible evidence of that which is unseen or indescribable. From the start I have been enamored with camera’s ability to create an image we want to believe in. No matter how savvy the viewer, the photograph still holds fast to its reference to fact. Regardless of our knowledge of photographic manipulation, we still trust images to tell use the truth in science, society, and history. That fact makes the photograph the perfect tool for me to give shape and substance to that which exists outside the limits of language. Humanity shares common emotions. We all experience joy, grief, guilt, wonder, love, hate, and countless other feelings, but we do not experience them in the same way or to the same degree. For me, words fail the complexity of the human’s emotional landscape. This failure is why my images exist. They are meant to communicate complicated or convoluted feelings using imagery and symbolism that is both personal and universal and free from the burden of concrete meaning. What makes me human is also what makes the viewer human. I want a way to cultivate a connection without assumptions, without dilution, and without personal pretense.
