Artist Statement

My artwork is largely centered around my identity being chronically ill and disabled. I started using illness as a focal point in my art-making when I realized it was a part of me that I could openly identify with. My experience in higher education has taught me that my Cystic Fibrosis (CF) is not something I need to hide or be ashamed of. CF shapes almost every aspect of my life, including my daily routines, relationships, academic pursuits, and artistic practice. Through my art, I highlight the ways CF can be viewed outside of a strictly medical lens and instead offer alternative and creative viewpoints.

I incorporate my own medical devices into my art as a way to repurpose medical waste and offer insight into the materials I rely on everyday. I have used my oxygen tubing, radiology images, expired medication, I.V bags, feeding tube supplies and masks to make sculptures, installations, and self portraits. Additionally, much of my photography centers on nostalgia and the desire to hold onto meaningful moments, places, and relationships. Living with a shorter life expectancy, I am drawn to memory as a way of cherishing the time I have and honoring what matters most.

My ultimate goal is to initiate conversations about disability representation in the arts. There is a lack of discussion surrounding disabled artists and I want to change that. Rather than perpetuate negative assumptions of disability, I strive to celebrate it by highlighting its unique beauty. I work to achieve this by centuring my body, medical devices, and life experience in my art.

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