Clash 2021
Compass 2017 Time-lapse photography. Hand spun cotton candy and my Thanksgiving dinner
Throughout the work there are versions of a familial space that are available to the viewer. A setting that is both familiar and familial to many is that of the Thanksgiving dinner setting. Even though you are closer to people around you there is a tension and space that is expanse and empty. The images of “compass” represent a personal memory that is coded into this holiday. Hand-spun cotton candy is laid upon my thanksgiving meal and slowly melts, coating the entire plate in a thick sugar shell.
'Terminus' 2017 Time-lapse Scanned Imagery
“Terminus” explores a similar type of familial space. The peach is a stand in for an individual creating a protective shell. A frozen peach was coated in hard candy. Creating a space between the world and object. As the peach began to defrost, the candy would melt off and reveal the peach. Candy is a way to make something more consumable, but in the case of the peach the candy renders the peach inedible. A barrier is created and destroyed but still leaves a mark on the maker.
Spit & Dye 2013 Color Inkjet Photographs
Spit & Dye is composed of two images, on top of one another. The top image, Spit, is from the sugar gun video, it depicts the chucks of sugar and spit from the act of eating the gun. The image is minimal in its color; it is mostly reddish tones on a white background. The bottom image was taken after I died my hair red. Each image was taken at a downward angle, looking into the bathtub or down at the floor, I then take those images and put them on wall. This creates a sense of disorientation to mimic the overwhelming feeling of distress from trauma.
The gun spittle shows that I couldn’t handle the consumption of the thing, that moment continues to carry weight. The image carries its own meaning and structure and exists as a separate piece from the gun video.
The reason for the hair dye image is because the gesture of obsessively dying my hair mimics the gesture of suicide. I ritually destroy and hide a part of my identity that I am uncomfortable with. I do not want to think about that heritage so I kill it every month.
"Shielded" 2013 Multi-Exposure Inkjet Photographs
The image is a multi exposure photograph made from 9 separate exposers. Exposure after exposure breaks down the image. An image breaks the image before, revealing the cameras weakness. The subject is masked by herself through the multi-exposure.
"Reclaimed Skins" 2013 Performative Installation, India Ink, Flyswatter and Inkjet Photographs
An inked up flyswatter hit the image until the image was blacked out by the ink. Then, using a cloth, the subject was reviled again, changed. Using india ink and a flyswatter the subject is reclaimed through a performative gesture.
States "Density" Documentation of a Performance Sequence Photography 2013 (Images on left)
The environment builds up on the lens of the camera. It cannot focus through the steam and the figure slowly becomes obstructed through the build up. A natural state has overwhelmed the lens.
"Frigid" Documentation of a Performance Sequence Photography 2013 (Images on right)
Ice was built up on the lens and then placed back onto the camera. Throughout the progression the ice melts and the figure is revealed. The camera slowly begins to "see" as the ice melts.
The way we put ourselves together Performative photographs 2011
The subject matter for “The way we put ourselves together” consists of various nature specimens, including trees and foliage. The nature specimens represent the true natural state of the human body. Once we apply beauty products, the natural state of the body is covered up and lost. The photographs throughout the series mimic the interaction and action of the product. The beauty products are used in the same manner that they are traditionally used: shaving the barks of trees, applying make-up to the leaves, and brushing mascara onto grass, etc. The action and interaction of applying the product creates a performance, and the imagery is a documentation of that performance. The specimens are carefully chosen so they mirror the body part that interacts with the product. Some of the products give the plants and trees a new identity. More rough trees/plants are treated with male products and delicate trees/plants are treated with feminine products. Often the chemical composition of the products entirely masks the nature and it almost never leaves the plant in its natural state.