Artist's Statement

My general aesthetic concern, both as an individual artist and as an admirer of the art of others, basically centers on the exploration of states of suffering. So much of our culture exists to shield us and separate us from a direct awareness of the suffering of others: even as we are overwhelmed by a nightly barrage of dystopian images on the evening news (whether it be the tragedies of the COVID-19 pandemic, the chaotic impact of U.S. imperialism abroad, mass shootings, refugee crises, or the oncoming climate disaster), the overall effect is to numb us, to render us paralyzed and detached from both the outrage of these images and from our own involvement in and capacity to change them. My work would ideally aim to counterpoint such desensitization by bringing the viewer into a more immediate and unsettling contact with the reality of suffering (either physical or emotional), jolting them into a clearer understanding of their relationship to these scenes as a spectator and thus hopefully inspiring thought or even positive action. I cherish escapist entertainment as much as anyone else, but my personal interest in film often involves an anti-escapist, even anti-entertainment immersion in unpleasant sensations and ideas. While these experiences can be difficult to take, it is my ultimate hope that they work against the political and emotional complacency that almost every aspect of contemporary culture encourages.

Stylistically I tend to prefer the stridently artificial over the naturalistic. I can appreciate and admire realist approaches to filmmaking, but my favorite films bypass replications of reality in favor of extremely heightened and uniquely cinematic realities, from the baroque, colorful, and emotive (the films of Rainer Werner Fassbinder and Kenneth Anger) to the austere, cold, and cerebral (Michael Haneke and Pier Paolo Pasolini). As a queer person I also feel a great attachment to a specific tradition of radical queer cinema, one which employed camp, horror, and melodrama to satirize and challenge the sadism of an oppressive society. The history of anti-queer persecution led many of these artists to explore the questions I outlined in the first paragraph, especially as they related to ideas of power, desire, and identity. While much of this radical spirit has faded from contemporary filmmaking, it is my hope, however naïve and misguided, that my efforts can capture something of their passion and earnestness.