A Distant Voice in the Darkness: Photography

Artist Statement

I am interested in the process by which we interpret and respond to the world around us. My artistic practice is driven by questions about the dissonance that occurs when we encounter information that conflicts with our mental models as well as our agency in the construction of our individual realities. My work is the result of my own attempts to reconcile this cognitive dissonance. I create a space of uncertainty for my audience to occupy as they negotiate patterns and rhythms in search of congruencies. In this space, the ambiguity of “what is” provides a springboard to consider “what could be”; it is where we (re)construct our mental models of reality and become better versions of ourselves. Photographic images—subjective ambiguities disguised as objective truths—are now the standard by which we interpret and evaluate our experiences with the universe. They drive a feedback loop in which we produce and then consume imagery that reinforces the dominant ideologies within our culture. I rely upon the indexicality and seriality of photography, the very same qualities that facilitate the medium’s authority over us, to create narratives that are out of sync with our visual culture in an attempt to undermine the power external forces have over our construction of reality.