Notions of privacy and disclosure are at the core of my work. My portraits deal with the reality of illness while balancing a thin line between expression and discretion. As a whole, my work deals with illness, death, and the impermanence of the body. Reminders of death and the transient materiality of our bodies are disconcerting. Nevertheless, through the blending of beauty into disgust, my work retains a pervasiveness that allows the viewer an intimate moment to reflect on these uncomfortable truths. As the philosopher Carolyn Korsymeyer describes in her book Savoring Disgust, I strive to create “…the kind of art that is capable of rendering the most awful experiences beautiful – not as a step leads to a destination, but as a lens produces clarity.”
Furthermore, I am interested in the internal and external factors that compose one’s identity. While these topics could be divisive, the use of color, humor, and childish aesthetic keeps my work welcoming. My work presents a personal side of an ever-increasingly political issue through a girlish lens of soft aesthetics and sad whimsy.
