Relationships are the most important component of the human existence; values within ourselves promote our understanding of humanity.  Through photography Nan Goldin produced candid images telling compelling stories of the subjects within. With vivid imagery, her cibachrome prints demonstrate a variety of relationships. Her photographs evoke emotion, they make you feel as though you are in the same room, or can recall a similar memory.  I want to evoke strong emotional awareness in my photographs. However, like Diane Arbus, I enjoy staging, or recreating moments. The photographs, Franko, Sam, Jo and Hands are all recreated moments or memories that display particular internal dialogues. Paula is the only candid photograph.  Each picture is superimposed with another; in this case all are combined with long exposure landscapes. Without applying a specific narrative I am attempting to evoke strong emotional awareness, among self and others.

Breathing is a framed installation that invites the viewer to climb into the space.  Frames are simple objects that have grand implication. They are rich with history, intention, care and purpose.  I collect frames, either by finding, thrifiting or receiving. I leave the frames around my studio so that I am constantly in visual engagement with their physical attributes.  The frames in this installation were thrifted and received prior to the photographs being taken. When I look at images, I am always thinking about where they belong. Different photographs were committed to different frames at different times during the building of Breathing.