Artist Statement

My paintings and drawings explore issues of identity, and look at how clothing, costumes, and adornment shape a sense of self.

I am intrigued by the feeling of a disconnection between the body and the self, where the body becomes something of the outside world, a shell to be cracked in order to reach the true interior. Connections are hindered by the habit of looking outside of the self for things that can supplement the body and promise the illusion of a complete person or new identity. The true self is masked and hidden behind these quick fixes and their assigned identities.

My paintings are portraits, in which the figures become hybrids of individuals and garments, exploring the struggle between the adornments and the bodies, and altering the role each plays in the creation of an identity. In these images, the dominating subject of the portrait blurs between the individual and the garment. The garments start to wear the body, rather than the body wearing the garment.