For as long as I can remember I have boxes of treasured objects that members of my family passed along to me posthumously. When sorting through sets of china, knitted doilies, a plastic hand mirror, and photographs of people I do not know, I realized that I never knew the significance associated with people I thought I knew very well. I wonder what they saw in me that I have yet to realize myself. Ultimately, I question how well I knew my relatives, only to realize that we all die twice. As I get older, I have learned what Roland Barthes meant when saying that we truly die a second time when no one can remember who we were. The scope of my work continues to explore personal psychology and altering perceptions of common experiences between siblings, while investigating the construction of memory, and the always-evolving definition one's “self.”



Fascinated with the fragmentation of visual narratives, I employ the belief that photography’s power to reveal something is only through perceived experiences on behalf of the viewer. The image is a hint of a “reality” that only occurs with both the camera’s and the viewer’s contribution. While the photograph is merely a still frame in the context of a cinematic storyline, the particular “still” acts as a narrative fragment and provides opportunities for related elements outside of the primary frame. Though each image contains symbols of personal interest, my intent is not for a common understanding but for an emotive exchange. In an attempt to create and utilize semiotic codes, the recognizable objects, coupled with uncanny scenarios, aid in the attempt to keep the personal hidden, yet allow viewers to recognize and employ his or her own subconscious references.