In 2022, I was invited to a party to photograph a group of female artists and musicians called Babestock, a three-day party in Saugerties to celebrate womanhood, friendship, and music.

I only knew two people. Lindsey and Ayla. Ayla is the person I hired to do a video for me a while back, and we have remained friends. I was so happy to see her at the party. I took almost 400 photos, and one of the last ones was of Ayla. It was in the dark with colorful strobe lights going off, and luckily, I caught this image. I loved it from the first time I saw it. It had a raw emotion that I couldn't figure out, and she was stunningly photogenic. What I didn't know was that she was having a major crisis in her life. She wanted to split up with her fiancé but didn't understand why. She met someone at the party that changed everything. She realized that she was gay, and this photo captured her. At that moment, she decided to take charge despite being afraid. It all worked out in the end, and she and her ex were much happier.

The painting asks people to dive deeper into what they see in the painting and themselves. It's only a front; we all have our shadow side and show it to no one. Behind her intense eyes lies a different story. One that she confronted that night at Babestock.