My Artistic Practice
Stories form the basis of my explorations in photography. They teach us lessons, provide a fertile ground for imagination, are escapes from realities we dislike, and give a glimpse of history in the structures of their tellings and the traditions they adhere to. They tell us what those who came before us thought about and what their experiences in the world were like while they used their imaginations to explore what their lives were not like. In other words, they are fictions based on reality. But powerful and life changing fictions that can give the reader a new moral compass, a new world view, a new world, and new ideas to be internalized that they never would have been exposed to ordinarily in ways that are not attacking, angry, or forced. Stories have to be wanted in order to read.
In the same way that stories have to be wanted, my images are offerings. They are open and Exploring this life changing power is the purpose of my work. My hope is to highlight incredible characters and stories who have transcended time, to provide a tangible, visual, and emotional connection to them, and to awaken a sense of wonder in those who view my work. By identifying the main characters and placing them in a photograph, the stories are kept alive in new ways, opened to be engaged with, and allowed to enter the lives of viewers if they desire it. What I aim to impart to the viewers of my work is a triggering of the imagination to create new stories, the formation of new ideas about old tales, a joy in those experiences, and an open heart.