EMBODIMENT.

 For as long as I can remember, I have used my art and the art of others as a form of escapism. In school, my “doodles” would transport me to a world far away, absent from the pressures of fitting in. My Sony Walkman was my first love, a safe place on the public bus, a welcomed retreat from the chaos at home. I’d skip class to smoke pot and play my guitar for hours, or lose myself in a song. My safety, or so it seemed, required that I go away, disassociating from my body. In time, my art would ask the same of me, finding solace in that distant place where my heart could soar. If I was lucky, I could bring something worthy of sharing back to my home planet, gaining the approval of my family and peers, offering me the validation and belonging I so longed for. I was a child when I formed this relationship, a child that carried this notion and practice well in to adulthood.

The work I am showing –– in the literal sense –– is my photography, but in a deeper more personal sense, it is the work of being here, in my body. Each frame an invitation to the present, inviting me to engage with and accept the birth and death of each passing moment. To see and witness the object(s) or person(s) before me. This medium and expression has awarded me a renewed relationship with art and with myself. From this grounded place I observe and behold the beauty of what is right in front of me. From this grounded place my heart soars once again.