All artists are haunted by specific themes, and mine are about loss and longing. Taking pictures satisfies a need for connecting and intimacy that does not have to bend. Making art is about understanding the connections that bond us.
It is about being loved, with a risk of failure. The portraits in this series describe the figure in front of the lens, and a moment of recognition. They incorporate a spectrum of emotions, and although not specific, articulate impressions otherwise difficult to express. When I make a portrait, I watch to see something I recognize. Often it is a feeling left over from my past. It may be something I long for, or something that helps me connect. Making portraits helps to satisfy my curiosity and re-create what I did not realize in my early years, a reality hidden from me that I was desperate to comprehend. In the words of Richard Avedon, “For a moment, it becomes possible to understand each other perfectly.”
Last summer, after visiting the John Singer Sargent rooms in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, I was moved by Sargent’s attention to the spirit of his models and his response to them. I saw in Sargent’s paintings a connection to his models that surpassed the superficial and external façade of the person in front of him. I recognized his empathy and how essential this is to my own photographic process. The visit inspired me to begin this series of portraits. I want to describe some kind of truth – both beautiful and sad – of who we are, how we feel, and how we project these emotional states. I want to describe the hope that resides within this exposure. [Official Website]
