Through my work I aim to preserve a sense of a life lived today. I photograph for posterity, to make a historical record that converses with an uncertain future, from the perspective of experiences and interactions I have during my lifetime. I am a visual storyteller working with photography in a social documentary practice I call Compassionate Photography. This is a deviation from “Concerned Photography,” a form of social documentary practiced in the 1960’s and 70’s by legendary photographer, Cornell Capa. Whereas Concerned Photographers placed emphasis on sympathy for subjects, concern for the loss of trust in the honesty of a photograph and concern for the political shifts occurring at the time, Compassionate Photography is founded on empathy, emotional awareness, change and acceptance.
Perhaps the most vital facet of this work, for me, is how images work in chorus with one another to build a sum greater than their parts. Regarding my editing and storytelling methodology, I focus my attention on how images work together to communicate meaningful and intersectional stories. Music plays a significant role in how I understand and observe the world. It also informs much of my image organization process. In the narrative ideation phase, I approach the work with the vision of a motion picture director and the metaphoric observation skills of a singer songwriter. Arrangements evolve by connecting the principles of songwriting and musical structure with cinematic and emotional elements found within the photographs. This results in a flow of characters, themes, forms and motifs that interact with the emotions, movements and instincts suggested by both the imagery and storyline.
My exhibition practice aims to elevate photography beyond the traditional by involving the imagination of the audience. I utilize playful and novel applications of woodworking, painting, printmaking and theatrics to construct an interactive and conceptual environment, or perspective, from which I want the audience to consider the content of the work. This practice aims to amplify the physical presence of the photograph in an effort to guide the audience’s attention into the substance of the imagery in order to ask them to question their positionality and beliefs about the subject matter.