ARTIST STATEMENT

I primarily work in photography, video, audio, and performance. Through these processes, I gather and interpret images and stories of ordinary people in an attempt to hold a mirror to the subtle discrepancies of everyday life. I aim to understand how people identify themselves and their surroundings, and in turn, how I identify myself.

The topics I explore materialize from my daily life and typically relate to relationships, gender, age, and identity. Recently, a number of family deaths spurred me to think about my own mortality, and how my views differ from my healthy, yet depressed, ninety-two year old grandmother. These disparate perspectives led me to interview elderly people on the topic of dying, and subsequently pair their words with young actors lip-syncing the dialogue.

This presentation highlights generational incongruities, presenting the viewer with the perceptions of young and old people simultaneously. The inclusion of multiple viewpoints from my subjects is central to most of my work — it’s an attempt to present topics in a neutral manner and let the viewer grapple with open-ended issues: How does a middle-aged man understand who he is? How does a young girl perceive her role in society? How do the memories of my best friend differ from my own?