In my artistic pursuit, I have an insider point-of-view advantage to a culture and way of life that may be misrepresented by those who are not familiar with its particular distinctions. Using the basic model of portraiture I am highlighting individuals of this life that is synonymous with a depersonalization of identity. Military life demands an amount of subordination of selfhood; definitely as a soldier, but also as family of a service member. This amounts to a gradual and intensified anxiety, especially with wars ongoing.
Sadly this becomes detrimental as some become emotionally lost, and suffer for their experience, as is evident with the large amount of veteran and soldier suicides, as well as divorce rates.
By combining different materials, some unconventional, I am creating ‘mini-alters’ to the people who are carrying that weight. The unconventional material being ‘parts’ that were once living (cow rawhide and porcine intestine casing) represents this disparity of self, and sometimes the reconstruction of that self, or the unfortunate loss of that self eternally. I’m also using my experience as a tattooer (both conceptually and in the process of making these mini-alters), in which my clients are mostly soldiers, veterans and military families, as I help them memorialize, redefine or symbolize who and what they are by carving it into their skin. My work here attempts to homage the individuals of this culture by using the experience of myself a soldier, veteran, military spouse, and tattooer. My painted and constructed works are the synthesis of all sides of the experience, and my intention as an artist to return identities to those who are lost.
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