In all the world has to offer, I find myself most interested in the human. Figurative art is my rock. I am inspired by not only the physical form, but the inner chemistry that maintains it. Studying the biological pathways from microscopic cells to the larger musculoskeletal structures builds my understanding—my appreciation—from the ground up.
However, I find it difficult to study the anatomy and physiology of my own body. I know already the curves of my hips, the translucency of my skin, the way my hair falls down my neck and rests over my shoulders. In self-portraiture, I instead dissect the psychology of my humanity. The literary definition of “figurative” as opposed to the artistic definition inspires my work: rendering myself as metaphor and allegory, as hyperbole and idiom. How can I show others what makes me tic? What love can I share with the public? Can others find themselves interwoven in me, someone they have never met, through what my human hands can produce? These are the questions I aim to answer, or at least ask over and over again.