Artist’s Statement

I make images because I’m compelled to tell stories of life through visual means. Photography is exhilarating to me. Each time I pick up my camera, I pluck moments from their physical existence and use them as a foundation with which to examine life’s underlying currents that we so often miss. Many other art forms seek to examine moments in time, but photography begins with an element that comes directly from our world and grounds the artwork in objective reality.

I began my artistic journey in theatre, where I explored the human spirit and how its energy affects every element of its environment. This life energy is a crucial piece to performance and story-telling in theatre. I’ve applied the idea of life energy to my work as a photographer. In doing so, I’ve come to appreciate the fact that there are relationships among all objects, living and non-living alike. All things have perspective, and we as humans, relate to all things because we are part of the world.

In my current work, I continue to deal with our situation as human beings. Specifically, I aim to celebrate the world and its wonder. I find that a lot of artwork is steeped in struggle and pain, and in response, I attempt to invoke marvel, love, and determination. Hardship is only a perception. All things exist as part of an interwoven system, which serves to support itself. We must experience hardship in order to experience success, relief, and exhilaration. I work to alter negative perceptions and uncover the “diamond in the rough”, and thereby invoke an emotional response from those who discover it.