2021-2023
My lens-based series, Minor Imperfections, reveals the hidden experience of insidious cycles of my mental illness. I began this project in 2012, twenty years after my first diagnosis, and worked intermittently until I suffered a major depressive episode in 2020 that renewed my compulsion to create this imagery. To illustrate my struggle, I utilize a multitude of image altering techniques to craft disjointed artworks of my face that evoke the disorienting trials of anxiety and depression.
The face is our primary physical identifier, often considered the most reflective of our internal selves. When I shatter my face into multiple pieces with my camera and collage it back together, submerge, sand or paint imagery, and adorn artwork with familiar objects, it signifies my attempt to reassemble my identity after a psychological breakdown. I strive for perfection, yet, after this reconstructive surgery, the parts fail to reunify. The resulting images leave fractured seams that illuminate my fragmented relationship with myself. This artwork indicates one of the primary symptoms of my mental illness— body dysmorphia, the obsession with perceived physical flaws. This distorted perception of my appearance disrupts my ability to integrate with the world around me.
In both my artwork and psyche, I scrutinize my body and mind. I continuously break, then gather and reassemble pieces of myself. My search for wholeness is an ongoing component of my creative practice and aids me in achieving a greater sense of mental wellness. I invite the viewer into my predicament and healing process to cultivate empathy, demystify and destigmatize mental health challenges.
Early Works and In Progress (2012 - present)
