My current work, as of yet, explores aspects of community around Sylmar, California, where I have lived my entire life, as well as Laurel Canyon and West Hollywood, where the homes of those closest to me reside. I use the varied landscapes of these locations as an allegory for the journey I have gone through in forming my own community which is intrinsically tied to my personal exploration of gender and sexuality. Queer individuals often grow up without a community of like-minded people: anyone falling outside of the heteronormative. Coming out (a never ending process) and seeking companionship (romantic and otherwise) are the first steps to this search for a community in which one feels acceptance.
I find solace in the sometimes solitary nature of photography; it provides a departure from the harshness of my surroundings. It has also facilitated interactions with those in whom I confide. Proximity to my subjects reveals my relationship to them. Open doors suggest familiarity and closeness, while closed shades and physical distance expose psychological detachment. Uninhabited, natural spaces have come to symbolize the future, the unknown, one filled with possibility and palpable anticipation.