Proof of life

Through self-portraiture, my practice makes critical expansions to the ongoing discussions of queer figuration and concerns for the individual as a subject. Using queer theory and futurity studies as the framework for my paintings and drawings, I examine concepts of disidentification and world-making as actions of radical self-care that are conveyed through self-provided partnership. Photographic references of interactions between these self-portraits are staged through processes of composite imagery and digital alteration, and are then translated to the painting/drawing’s surface by way of touch as mark-making. In doing this, I strive to construct a utopic environment where these individuals exist on their own ground; fulfilling desires, longing, and this need for emotional safety. It is through this self-referential method of working that my practice ultimately becomes a mirror for myself as the painter and a glimpse into the painter’s idealized fantasy for the viewer. Furthermore, it is through painting’s convoluted history that I seek to locate my position in figurative work and amend simplified narratives.