I embrace the philosophy of bricolage to create my work, working with whatever materials are on hand. My ultimate goal is to create a way to connect with others and explore the depths of what it means to be human. I often struggle to use verbal or written language in a way that clearly conveys what I think or feel, and I find imagery allows me this clarity even if it is misconstrued. My work is influence by a great desire to communicate.

 

In Olivia Laing’s book of essays Funny Weather: Art in an Emergency there is an essay exploring David Wojnarowicz’s memoir Close to the Knives. Wojnarowicz was a multidisciplinary artist and Aids activist who died in 1992 at the age of 37 from Aids-related complications. Laing upholds Wojnarowicz as a symbol of defiance in the face of extinction, concluding that “if silence equals death, he taught us, then art equals language equals life.”

 

Laing’s sentiment resonates with me and my desire to find ways to visually communicate. My work seeks to embrace art as a language that connects us, to contemplate the human experience and move forward in our shared humanity.