“Normalcy never existed, I just lived my life thinking that it did.”
Growing up as an only child to a single parent, I was lucky to live a childhood where there was some semblance of normalcy. Now that I look back, normalcy never existed, I just lived my life thinking that it did.
My mother was the only parent I had growing up. I had friends, and parental figures sure, but not one person could match the relationship that I’ve had with my mother.
In essence, I was your prototypical “mama’s boy.” Not by choice, but because I didn’t have one. As a result, most of my memories that I had when I was younger feature my mother as a central figure in my life. There are so many of them that they have become disjointed, disorganized fragments in my brain.
So why not make some new ones?
“Love Letter, Diary, my own form of Therapy.”
Untitled Series About a Mother & Son is the culmination of a multi year process of discovering who I am. Documenting my mother has lead to me exploring my own family history, as well as my role in my life as a single child, born from a simgle mother.
This isn’t just a photo series. It’s a love letter, diary, my own form of therapy.
It’s made me realize my place as an artist, and as a human being, and it has also led to my exploration into how others could perceive this work if they saw it without a context.
“What does it mean to be a man?”
In an age where manliness has become a trait that many are seeking through highly fabricated means, from snake oil salesmen that claim that manliness comes through unhealthy, misoginystic and delusional means.
What does it truly mean to be a man? Is it by ignoring what it means to be a decent human being? Is it by trying to make our bodies look a certain way by any means necessary. Is it by considering women as the weaker sex, and that they should be completely vilified?
My mother is the reason why I am here, both literally and figurativelty. She is my hero in life. Does being a man mean dumping my relationship with her to the wayside?
I want to question those notions of hypermasculinity in an age where said notions within the “manosphere” are treated as gospel. I am proud of my roots, despite the shame and stigma it brings, because at the end of the day.
Why should I be ashamed of showing this?
