My work is about creating an emotional space that is confrontational, yet familiar and inviting to personal introspection.
I
often work from an autobiographical standpoint, but aim to evoke a
shared psychological state and to address larger cultural issues such
as ethnic identification, homelessness, and drug and alcohol abuse. The
Portrait series includes a double image of my sister who suffers from
bipolar disorder and addiction. Each image of her is painted to
represent the subtle, yet visible difference between her seemingly
split personality. In the portrait titled, Missy, I repeat the
image of a close friend three times. This represents my friend’s own
bipolar disorder, and is a metaphor for my ongoing want to replace my
sister—who was lost to drugs and the streets—by befriending others with
the same illness. In the painting, my friend becomes a third person: my
sister.
The more recent abstract series is a new direction pointing to an
emotionally neutral, yet vibrant and charged space. Whether I am
working with portraiture or geometric and organic shapes, I use a
bright and earthy color scheme, and explore texture and gesture.
