artist statement

Find a justification. Discover an agenda. Outline a theory of practice – map the theory to the method to the output – and deduce the outcomes. This is how I make artwork.

I primarily use the medium of digital photography. With these raw images, I can work digitally, creating still panorama collages or time-lapse motion videos, or I can print individual photos to create hand-made panoramas or wall installations.

I am informed by the anthropological approach, specifically those of visual/media anthropology and reflexive anthropology. Visual/media anthropology provides me with methodologies to create and theoretical questions to analyze. Reflexive anthropology guides my belief that the evidence of the ethnographic process should be revealed – through explaining the personal histories and biases of all individuals involved in the creation of a piece or body of work.

The anthropological approach has taught me to create context: write field notes, record video and audio, take photographs. These become both creative works and research materials, which are merely connected parts of a whole.

At times I am an anthropologist first and an artist second. Other times it is the reverse. Sometimes it works in tandem.

Art is cultural information. We create art for a variety of reasons; sometimes for ourselves, sometimes for others. Often, we present art to an audience. The audience consumes this information, and can, in turn, create their own interpretations. I see this as the collaborative nature of communication.

We use art, media, and technologies – be they analog, digital, or both – to share our personal and cultural narratives with others.