Artist Statement
My artwork focuses on portraying the latent, unspoken, or ‘obscene’ aspects of our society. I tend to gravitate towards these kinds of private or personal experiences that we would otherwise try to hide from others out of stigma or fear of judgment. Experiences like moments of embarrassment, boredom, anxiety, shame, and loneliness. My overall intention with this is to destigmatize these experiences to encourage a more mutually respective way of looking at others. And I do this by contrasting these heavy topics with highly saturated colors and cartoonishly exaggerated, expressive figures.
My current artistic practice began around the time I was first diagnosed with social phobia as a teenager. From here, I saw the practicality in this medium as a way that I could communicate information about myself non-verbally–and did this through narrative paintings and drawings. Over many years, art became a kind of secondary language for me; it was utilized as a means to be understood, to express my emotions, and to ultimately share myself with others. This has remained a prominent value to me.
I like to see art as didactic and self therapeutic, a kind of joyous exchange of vulnerability and trust between creator and viewer.