I work conceptually with photographic images by re-evaluating the physical and psychological potential of the picture through sculptural and digital interventions. The works exist somewhere between the image and object, attempting to connect the representation to some form of reality. I am interested in the ubiquitous and mundane imagery of family portraiture, self-help books, and instructional guides, which, upon close inspection, allude to a range of human fears and emotions.
The research begins with the acts of looking and collecting then progresses to a critical investigation of the image and its relationship to ideologies of sexuality, desire, and death. Discarded images and objects are collected and combined with my own photography, sculpture, and video to develop an accumulated archive of sources. The materials are reconfigured through simple acts of censorship and distortion, potentially provoking the desire to see. The renewed compositions often act like a peephole, which diverts the viewer’s gaze, and focuses attention to otherwise overlooked details. Entire scenes are rendered incomplete without the viewer’s imagination filling the gaps and visualizing what lies beneath the surface of the photograph, or behind the veil.
There is an undeniable relationship between the subconscious choices in my artwork and the environment in which I was raised. In my childhood home, magazines and movies were censored, select films and TV shows were forbidden, sexuality and death were seldom discussed. The power images hold was discovered through scrutinizing forbidden magazine collections, daytime soap operas, and movies. The impetus of my practice resides in the desire to see, only to discover nothing shocking. Instead, seemingly mundane imagery is isolated and fragmented, presenting a narrative exploring the inevitable, bizarre, and romantic nature of images.
