Statement

Statement Regarding Assemblages:

The assemblage art contains photography mounted on canvas as well as placement with various materials (such as sea glass, crushed glass, satin fabric) and written text in ink. I take my camera with me almost everywhere I go as my photography captures everyday sensory experiences. Much like a journal, the photographs identify and crop subject matter which I find has poetic and philosophical purpose in regard to contemporary identity. After the photography becomes mounted on the canvas, I write texts with ink on the canvas with poetic passages which ambiguously describe the subject. Upon the remaining surface, loose ‘sketches’ are made with various materials which helps deconstruct the physical aspects of the subject. The entire process, from capturing the subject, to deconstruction with a sketch, to philosophical scribing, entails a method steeped in a heightened sense of individualism in regard to image-making. My photography contains no Photoshop alteration and without any other digital enhancement in order to provide a documentary experience of a raw image. 

Various materials contained within my assemblages have specific conceptual purposes. For example, I often take photographs of aquatic life from aquariums and the watery mists of beach shores. As a result, the sea glass and crushed glass I use has a connotation with ocean and rain water because of the reflective shine which resembles the glistening glow of light penetrating aqua as well as the fact sea glass comes from the ocean. In addition, glass comes from sand and sand comes from the beach, another direct conceptual reference. Satin becomes used to convey a theatrical display. The fabric is often applied to the surface of my work in a manner similar to the drapery of a theatre stage. Also, satin is generally regarded as a luxurious and fine material which reflects the value I have towards my subject matter, as elements which are sacred. 

During the process of capturing selective imagery from my daily life, experiences, and travel with photography, I build upon the image by fusing the photographs with integrative ‘material drawings’ which establish new angles, perspectives, texture, and surfaces in which to engage the subject matter. The combinative and organic work becomes defined by process as even the written texts become open to individual interpretation by the viewer. As a writer and publisher, the written word has important symbolic significance to my identity. The writing first becomes dictated through improvisation and scribbled onto the canvas, smeared with gesso, and then rewritten on top with an edited version. By fusing written text with image-making, I create a conscious interpretation of my artistic methods in real-time. Besides the literal attributions, the works are also metaphorical assemblages because they integrate four artforms containing photography, glass work, fiber, and creative writing into one cohesive work of art. Combining the intense power of realism with photography, the interpretative energy of the written word and expressive material placement, the assemblage constructs a bridge through the deconstruction of observable subject matter into forms of new visual and improvised consumption.

Statement Regarding Photography:

As a documentary and conceptual still life photographer, I wish to provide the audience with an experience of a raw image, which is why there is no Photoshop used and no digital enhancements or alterations in any of my photography.

Typically, I take photographs of aquariums, wine glasses with sea glass / crushed glass along satin fabric, and the New Jersey shoreline. These aquatic themes reflect a state of naturality as well as an experience of mindfulness focusing on the detail and sfumato atmospheres of various textures. The photographs range from fantastical to ethereal, revealing realms which are either captured or constructed having us ponder upon the philosophical purpose of contemporary identity.

Statement Regarding Films:

Needless Validation

Duration: 6 minutes, 50 seconds

Needless Validation uses raw video footage of aquatic life as actors to reflect on psychological impulses. The film conveys how natural enchanted imagery can provide solace when social interaction becomes devoid of meaningful impact. Through communicating with texts, the film speaks to the audience to seek validation from within, rather than from malevolent individuals only looking after their own interests. In essence, Needless Validation is about personal growth and how hypnotic natural imagery filled with ethereal qualities elevates self-awareness, far removed from the influence of others.

Nihilism of Digital Realms

Duration: 4 minutes, 9 seconds

The short film takes the viewer on a journey of enchanted natural realms full of fantastical aquatic life contemplating on the futility and nihilism of digital realms. Through texts, the viewer becomes challenged to question their reality and much of their perception is shaped by artificial environments, particularly through digital applications. These images offer solace through real unedited footage against the backdrop of noise from digitized automation. 

Subconscious Interpretations

Duration: 8 minutes, 43 seconds

Subconscious Interpretations is an arthouse documentary film seeking to use unfamiliar fantastical imagery to induce random thoughts and try to piece them together. As I watched the footage, I put myself in a state of hypnosis and brought forth the first words and sentences which came to my mind. As a result, I pieced together these words and phrases until I came up with a conceptual narrative which indirectly ties in with the imagery contained within the film.

The Pleasant Realm

Duration: 7 minutes, 19 seconds. 

A conceptual arthouse documentary film, The Pleasant Realm was shot entirely on location at the Jenkinson's Aquarium in Point Pleasant Beach, New Jersey. The short film entails using aquatic realms as the backdrop and metaphor for lucid, imaginative conversations.

Greetings From Point Pleasant Beach, New Jersey

Duration: 12 minutes, 35 seconds. 

Greetings from Point Pleasant Beach, New Jersey is an autobiographical arthouse film. After living in the South for the past 7 years, far away from home, the bad experiences I had from a failed marriage to lack of opportunity and a lifetime worth of enemies...I finally came home to New Jersey. But instead of going to the North, where I am originally from, I settled on the Jersey Shore where much of my family have moved to. Greetings from Point Pleasant Beach, New Jersey expresses how the ocean seems to have a cleansing effect on my current state in life. Free from distractions and negativity, I can finally focus on my priorities due to the opportunities in the region, the pleasant, developed, and prosperous community on the shore as well as releasing a lifetime worth of tension and conflicts watching and swimming onto the crashes of the waves. 

Beasts of the Abyss

Duration: 14 minutes, 42 seconds. 

Beasts of the Abyss is an arthouse film shot in a documentary manner. Although this is not my first motion picture project, I consider Beasts of the Abyss to be my very first serious film executed professionally. The work entails my longstanding fascination with the whale sharks at the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta. When I first gazed my eyes on a whale shark for the first time in person, the beast did not even seem like a real creature, more like a fantastical creation from a film like Avatar or from the books of Jules Verne. At first I started to photograph the whale sharks, then I started to write about them, which led to making assemblages depicting the beasts, finally, I decided to dedicate a film to the whale sharks. The concept of the film highlights the ancient, mythic, titanic, and fantastical elements which are available to us, such as the ethereal coral depicted in the film. Like the whale shark, we all yearn to be as powerful and not bound by the constraints of contemporary society. In essence, I wanted to express how some sea creatures and vegetation can appear and give off an aura of fantasy, especially whale sharks, manta rays, jellyfish, and coral. Through careful editing, fantasy-based audio, and focused filming, I reveal a realm which we could imagine in our dreams, but does indeed exist in reality.

Statement Regarding Photographic Assemblages:

These photographic assemblages are based on original unedited photography and formatted into a montage in Photoshop. Conceptual philosophical and ironic texts then becomes applied to enhance the combination of the images and have the viewer ponder on raw imagery with a deeper purpose. The photographic assemblages are a satire on meme culture, which usually uses low-brow or artificial messaging for instant gratification. Also, the texts in the works have the intentional appearance of being similar to closed captions in a film. By redefining a conceptual approach to incorporating text in visual substance as well as assemblage, the unretouched photography serve as advanced forms of direct communication. Each photographic assemblage is printed in a limited edition of one, so they are all one of a kind.

Statement Regarding Conceptual Still Life Photographs Containing Wine Glasses, Crushed Glass, Sea Glass, and Satin Fabric (Enchanted Chalices):

Conceptually, these works could be interpreted as contemporary mythological chalices. A fountain of youth...but with a catch. Broken glass has connotations with danger, yet the sparkling of the glass and liquid begs the recipient to take a sip...or even a gulp. The mythological drinks are hazardous to drink but simultaneously promise rejuvenation. In essence, I am creating my own sense of fantastical dichotomy between perception and reality.

These photographs are a conceptual scenario of becoming a superhuman. Chalices which are a conceptual commentary on vanity and seeking contemporary mythological glory of self-enhancement akin to replicating Ancient Greek heroes such as Heracles, Achilles, Atalanta, and Perseus.

I think glass is really fascinating. Besides being pretty, the substance has an element of enchantment along with a connection to nature. Glass is completely natural as the substance comes from the ocean and sand. Considering how much sand there is on the planet, having the use of glass as an energy source would be really interesting, if possible. Sand is almost limitless as there are entire deserts scaling thousands of miles filled with nothing but terrain of sand.

Glass is an enigma, an element of ingenuity which reflects landscapes, nature, our imaginations, and a charming of character. In crushed form, the material only appears even more beautiful as a substance of true character which has deep poetic implications. I could write a whole book about the beauty and attributes of glass.