Early Riser

Lives and works in New York, NY, USA

Artist statement

I am deeply captivated by the interplay of human emotions which can be capricious, fleeting, and very often contradictory. Life unfolds in moments that oscillate between exhaustion and satisfaction, heartbreak and relief, laying bare the essence of our true selves. I often wonder where our true selves lie; in our triumphs... or in the more mundane aspects of everyday life. We spend so much time striving for one, yet do most of our living in the other. Or maybe (perhaps even more likely) one lives within the other and the joy of success can be found in the creases of everyday fear, boredom and exhaustion. I am a person of mixed identity. As a transgender women I spent much of my life hiding myself from others and shaming myself for completely ordinary desires. I learned to contort emotion and presentation to fit a carefully tailored narrative. I carry the scars of that trauma. Yet, I find my experience is not so different from all of humanity, even as we separate it out as other. Everywhere I see others who share the feelings of fear, inadequacy and uncertainty, even as they hide these from the world. And I also see joys in the small places of peoples lives. These look so familiar to me that I no longer feel alone in my struggle. In that space lies the greatest beauty and it is these stories I want to share. And yet, I do not have the words to describe the way something like panic settles into boredom. Agitated at first, then revives itself in swirling elation with the...

Artwork