Artist Statement
In this photo project, I am interested in themes of fantasy, science fiction, and escapism. Growing up in New Mexico and Arizona it was often too hot to go outside. The 115 degree weather left me and my 7 siblings trapped in a small house. To escape my reality I would read Japanese manga, watch science-fiction movies, and draw my own comic book characters. I was always keen on alternate reality story arcs and had a vivid imagination. I loved watching episodes when a Star Trek captain or an X-Men character would be faced with an evil version of themselves. Like many LGBTQ+ individuals, coming out and expressing myself was challenging and often felt like an internal battle. The feeling of being trapped in my reality, and depressed about my identity left me with a feeling of wanting to be someone or something else. This project started during the pandemic and social distancing. As my childhood feelings of isolation and desires to live in another world returned, I began to sketch and come up with alternate versions of myself.
Each character is in an alternative physical state or personality placed in the same domestic environment to act as a constant. The constant is met to refer to a theatrical stage and intended to route the viewer into the theme of confinement and isolation. The private room becomes both a safe space hidden from the outside world and a prison. These acts of deviance in sexuality or abnormal appearance seem less intrusive in a domestic setting than a public one. The home is a place to truly be yourself but sometimes that personality can only live in private. For many LGBT+ your identity and personality at home may not be mirrored in public. My goal is for the viewer to receive these images with an open mind and relate some of their own hidden desires to my internal battles, emotions, desires, and imagination performed by these various self-portraits. The desire to escape my reality to someplace more fantastic or wonderful starts with self-expression and vulnerability
