As people we all individually identify with communities greater than ourselves, with society; these collective entities often dictate certain protocols, perception, and cultural codes. So, to an extent, we are what they say we are, or what we are supposed to be. As a person of mixed racial and ethnic background, I am very familiar with existing in and identifying with two different groups at once. Although I identify with two unique cultures, I am often pressured to choose between the two, which makes me sometimes feel that I am not a part of either camp, but in my own grey area between the two.
This grey area, I believe, exists in some form for everyone on some level. It’s when all the pieces don’t seem to fit right, and we are forced to take a step back and reevaluate ourselves and our world, as well as how we interact. Culture (language, dress), race, possessions and collections, intimate narratives, and experience are all different ways in which we identify ourselves. Each of these can be visually deconstructed and subverted through the juxtaposition or marriage of contradictory imagery. Hopefully, as a result of adding the extra piece that oddly doesn’t fit, people will venture into the grey to investigate, and perhaps leave with an interesting thought or two that they might not have had otherwise.
My imagery, as well as my interest in the “double-take” reaction, stems from what I believe to be the human experience, as well as my own personal life and my imagination; my own personal search for self. Since these things are always changing in some way or another, so is my visual content and my approach. I enjoy injecting a bit of humor or surprise in addition to unease and discomfort, or confusion and disgust.
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