People Watching_Smoke

STATEMENT

Art is a powerful medium through which we share our thoughts and ideas, the ways we see and feel the world around us, and how we see ourselves.

As an immigrant, my search for identity and belonging has always been an inspiration for my art. Through photography and collage, my work reflects a personal journey exploring migration and discovery. As I’ve moved quite a bit throughout my life, creating and maintaining new connections in every place became a necessity and reflects how I approach my work – not accepting the permanent. Deconstruction of images, either in the form of a collage or digital manipulation, becomes a form of contemplation where I play and search for new visual connections.

Whether I’m working in street photography or studio conceptual work, I use a documentary approach when taking pictures. Once in my “darkroom,” I find that editing is where I am most creative. I think of my work as unfinished interpretations of everyday life waiting for viewers to inhabit the space I have created for them and make their own connections.

Questions of cultural and social belonging are always an integral part of my practice.