My paintings and drawings examine the tension between internal and external desire through figurative representation of psychic narrative. Inspired by dreams, subconscious thought, and fiction storytelling, the content of my work explores aversion to discomfort, attraction to pleasure, and cultural associations between naturalness and morality.
I consider “Nature” a non-gendered, unbiased entity that has been imbued with varying social significance. The affiliation of nature with ‘good’ limits society's definition of the natural world by excluding the cruel and grotesque. Similarly, associations of fear, discomfort, and perverseness with 'bad' parts of nature create negative discourse around human behavior that is often categorized as unnatural, wrong, or queer.
I paint from imagination, translating stories into paint-and-chalk-layered illustrations that depict how psychology informs the visual experience. Through this process of image-making I conjure distorted characters and impossible worlds by excavating my own feelings around queerness, desire, and death.