My practice serves as a therapeutic device to help me process my traumatic childhood and adolescence. I uncover repressed memories and document the few stories I have left from this time. I self-soothe emotional wounds by depicting my struggles and creating imagined scenarios of intimacy and interpersonal connection. I live vicariously through these scenes and experience a glimpse of these fundamentally human events that I have missed out on. I fantasize about connections and experiences that most take for granted, often turning to maladaptive daydreaming. My understanding of mundane intimacy as something purely fantastical, and my obsession with imagining such experiences, is represented by the exaggerated proportions of human figures. Much like croquis fashion sketches, the anatomy is simplified yet dramatic. This cartoon-like stylization also allows me to depict unpleasant memories while preserving the last of my childhood innocence. Motivated by a life of envy, peering in from the outside and watching others have the simple life experiences that I yearn for, my work now invites the viewer to become the voyeur. Amongst the different pieces in my collective body of work, the viewer can both see from my perspective and experience intimate interactions from the outside, or become a voyeur to my life through the documentation of my personal memories.
Education
Current | School of the Art Institute of Chicago | Chicago, IL
BFA in Studio Art
Exhibitions
2024 | “Perpetual High-waters” | ARTBASH 2024 | SAIC Neiman Gallery | Chicago,IL
2023 | “Ciggy BF” | WCHS Spring Art Show | Potomac, MD
2022 | “Nature’s Power” | WCHS Spring Art Show | Potomac, MD
Professional Experience
2024 - Current | Print Services Assistant | SAIC Print Services | Chicago, IL
Facilities Management
Service printers on SAIC campus
Unload and organize paper/toner shipments
Maintain Print Services storage on campus
2024 | “Acid Angst” album cover commission for DJBAGGADONUTS and Bent Rhythm
Client communication
Collaboration between artist, music artist, and music label
2024 | Poster Commission for Midnight Pantry Magazine
2024 | Logo Design for WCHS Women's Varsity Basketball Merch
2022 - 2023 | Teacher’s Assistant | Ceramics 2 | WCHS: Paul Dermont | Potomac, MD Give hand-building demos
Directly interact with and assist students
2021 - 2022 | Artist Assistant | Siri-Sari House Films | Bethesda, MD
Assist in the production of stop-motion short films
Storyboarding, model making, stop-motion animation, audio production, video editing.