Through the use of photographic montage, textiles, sewing, and installation, my work investigates making of memory, and the role of the photograph in this neural process. My practice focuses on the use of multiple collage techniques to create a sense of chaos, a stew of memories. I am inspired by vernacular photography and textiles as both hold onto human experiences in unique ways. My art represents my vision of the world and mimics the chaos I feel inside. I seek to understand the complex emotions that exist together at the same time-humor and sadness—beauty and fear. The contradictions are endless and fascinating. Time and time again, I find myself revisiting the theme of memory and what is real. Much of my memory feels blurry from childhood and I have used photographs from the past to help me form memories I hold today.

I’m particularly interested in how photography can be stretched beyond its traditional forms and can merge with other media to expand its meaning. I use my family archive and my personal diary to do this.

I employ a breaking and mending process in all my work, taking ripped and cut fragments and sewing them back together in unexpected combinations . Deconstruction of imagery forces contemplation. Reconstruction acts as a mending of that which feels broken or disparate. Together these processes result in my constructed memory of my life experiences.

Memory sewn together, constructed as I see it.. At the heart of my work is the notion that it is the ordinary in life that is truly extraordinary, that memories are fluid and ever-changing. I am especially tied to family memory and the expanded notion of the family album as a vehicle toward understanding universal themes in human experience.