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I’m interested in how spaces change when we are not around.
How would you describe your work? I consider myself a documentary photographer, though my subject matter may not be representative of what a typical documentary photographer would shoot. My interest lies in how people interact with the spaces we build. More specifically, I’m interested in how spaces change when we are not around. Who/what have been your primary influences? That’s a tough question. My interests really are extremely broad. Though I consider myself an artist, my art thus far exists solely as photographs. So really I sometimes find it easier to just call myself a photographer. As such, I look at and am influenced by mostly photographers. There are four primary photographers I have come to say helped define my interests and shooting style: Hiroshi Sugimoto for his technical mastery and elegantly simple style, Gregory Crewdson for this cinematic use of light, Edward Burtynsky particularly for his work in China, and Andreas Gursky because, well, he’s the man. How has your work changed during your time at the University? I entered graduate school here with a portfolio of work I did on refugee camps in Malta. My background was in journalism and public relations photography and I thought I would continue to travel to far-away lands and work on telling stories about people. What I really wound up doing was staying close to home and telling stories about places void of people. In a way I suppose you could say my work did a bit of a 180. Which piece/research/work are you most proud of? My MFA thesis work is the result of two full years of hard –but enjoyable—labor. It’s really the showcase collection of work I will come away with from my time here in graduate school here. I think I’m most proud of that so far.
