This ongoing body of work explores the ideas of identity, memory and language, and the socio and familial bases of which these are formed. I am guided by the stories and places which have had the largest impact on my life, morals and decision making processes. Despite a conscious decision at a young age to disregard many of the bigoted ideals that existed in my family and region, I have since been able to explore and reexamine many unnoticed corners, discovering things I never knew and things that had been hidden or ignored or in some cases, repressed.

History plays a massive role in my work, not merely in the content, but in the materials I choose to make use of. Found photos allow me a frozen glimpse into the lives of people I know only through word, a war time letter shifts my perception of a person whose death occurred before my birth and a secret code used between my deceased grandparents creates another new mystery. I don’t approach this work looking for a way to fit it into the medium I am comfortable with, but to let the history guide my materials. 

My intent is not to create an all encompassing historical record, but explore the choices and lives of those that came before me and examine the conscious and unconscious effects they, and my surroundings, have had in the development of my own identity.