Poser, Liliana Bloch Gallery, Dallas Texas 2021
Poser is a derogatory term used to shame someone for being something they are not. I started this project as a cis-gendered male holding a mirror up to myself. I wanted to look at myself the way I looked at women that I desired who worked for me as models. Over time I have overcome the shame of becoming more feminine with the desire to make this change in my identity a positive experience. A lot of people who look at my work were repelled which told me my project was working. Since people were getting angry, it meant the project was challenging their expectations and making them see the complexities of sexuality and gender.
FLASH, Liliana Bloch Gallery, Dallas Texas 2020
Departing from the classic photographer/model relationship, I continue to explore the power of the male gaze, defined by Laura Mulvey as deriving sexual pleasure from looking at the passive female object. The story in FLASH begins with the photographer projecting his gaze on the model. Then the gaze suddenly turns on the photographer by turning him from subject to object. FLASH represents not only the usual sexual pleasure men enjoy from looking at a passive female object, but also disturbs this familiarity as I turn the camera onto myself. I believe this action transforms, transfixes and critiques the complexities of the masculine in photography.
The resulting images are a mix of video, instant film and medium format photography revealing an intimate, visual dialogue between model and photographer.
The resulting images are a psychological anthology of snap shots echoing Nan Goldin, and Leigh Ledare. This series has given me a greater understanding of the relationship between personal desires, and other women. I have found power in the ability of self-portraiture to understand the origins of the constitution and subjectivity of sexual identity.
Polished, Liliana Bloch Gallery, Dallas Texas 2016
I want to photograph the uncanny secrets we hold dear but never expose. These precious secrets may be actions, persons or a place or a thing we adore that lies outside society’s usual boundaries, placing us out of civilization and into a kind of wilderness. Like the photographer who leaves home at night to shoot nude models or the artist who leaves her family at home while she styles men into women after work hours.