Photography is my cathartic way to express my experience. Not as a faithful documentation of my surroundings, but as an abstract exaggeration of my reality. I find myself between expression and impression, blending form as space as well as emotion. Seeking to transcend the mundane into a distinct moment that offers something that departs the subject matter. I make photos that are intimate and attempt to create a narrative about myself and ourselves. Of all the duality that exists within us. Of all that is shown and all that is hidden.
My choice of subject is light, and the patters of shadows it creates. I use wide angles, vertical compositions, black and white, and at times higher angles, to alter the natural perspective, increasing distance, accentuating contrast, and adding drama. I have focused on creating exposures that cast much of the photographic rectangle into darkness, dividing the space to create a hide and reveal with the shadow and light.
The simple but exaggerated aesthetic is intended to help myself and the viewer focus on an emotional state. The extreme negative space can convey emotions of isolation, loneliness, and smallness, creating spaces that feel ominous. But at the same time there is beauty, mystery and intimacy that feels alluring. It frightens us but it intrigues us.
These photographs are in part about the unknown and what defines them is the emotional connection I have with the moment. The creative process is full of mystery and it is what has made it so enjoyable to me. This project started as my introspective attempt to find my voice as a photographer, making sense of what I had been drawn to for years, the themes I visited again and again, before and after the lockdown. This series comes from my desire for self-expression.
