Because I find everyday inspiration through the act of people-watching, my work is primarily focused on observing how individuals express themselves candidly. In all my pieces, the subject is unaware that the focus is on them; they are simply existing authentically. I aim to capture moments when someone’s style or gesture reveals something deeper about who they are. People curate their styles without noticing it everyday–demonstrating their personality and natural tendencies.

 

Some guiding questions for my sustained investigation were how can I celebrate or capture the way humans naturally express their eccentricities? In what ways is people-watching a way to ‘expose’ how people express themselves? And could the way in which I incorporate color–through collage, for example–add meaning to my pieces? My goal is for the viewer to be able to assume something about the relationship between people in my pieces without knowing anything personal about them. Throughout my sustained investigation, I've created work that ranges in its level of abstraction–aiming to convey a sense of nostalgia in the more abstracted pieces. 

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Setting also plays an important role; in the city, I've noticed that there are an abundance of eccentric people. I think people embrace living in the city because of the freedom to be oneself without the pressure of ‘performing’. While this liberty is not limited to city-living, I enjoy that the city ‘norm’ includes being carefree about displaying one’s habits and quirks. Ultimately, my goal is to celebrate individuality. I hope that my future work will help me and other viewers appreciate the richness of visual expression in everyday life–because there is art and profundity in the ordinary.