Artist Statment

A primary source of inspiration for me has been the aesthetics and iconography of the Catholic Church. Specifically the erotic portrayal of the crucifixion of Jesus and the torment of the martyr San Sebastian, in the form of sculpture and painting, as well as the ostentatious decorative architecture of the retables (the site of ritual display located behind the altar). 

My work explores the complex relationship between power, violence, beauty, sex, and pleasure. The psychic fragmentation and sense of shame that can develop within people sexually abused as children are qualities present in modern and contemporary life and can readily be found in art. For example, I see the work of Rodin and his ideas about the use of spare parts and fragments to construct a sculpture as emblematic of the process of self-realization.