My work contends with experiences of gender and sexuality. I draw upon my personal history and observations as a queer person; I aim to use the power of the personal while transcending the autobiographical to reach beyond myself. My work comes from the tradition of the Politics Identity Art Movement. However, I aim to deconstruct current cultural conceptions and to facilitate a new dialogue about the experience of queerness in today′s sociopolitical climate. My work achieves this cultural dialogue by celebrating the transgressive beauty of subversive gendered experiences.
The politics of representation and my relationships with my subjects are important to me and integral to the work. Being a queer person allows me to build alliances and relationships, which give me special access to the community.
I wish to subvert the generally heteronormative gaze of the camera and blur the boundary between producer and consumer, subject and object, photographer and model. I strive to visually articulate peoples′ relationships with their bodies and the effects of daily performance of their genders. Reactions to my work range from solidarity to contempt. The most important aspect of these interactions is not that the viewer agrees with what is being offered but that a discourse is established.
I work with traditional and digital photography, photographically based mixed-media, video, and video installation. I choose the media based on both aesthetics and the most effective way to communicate.