This project explores erasure and public identity, specifically the experience of being seen but

not truly felt. While America has a long history of erasing marginalized people—from slavery to

policy—I discovered, through making this work, that I was complicit in my own erasure. I

realized my disconnection wasn’t from my identity as a person of color, but from my specific

family lineage. Inspired by exhibitions like Going Dark: The Contemporary Figure at the Edge

of Visibility at the Guggenheim, and artists like Kerry James Marshall, I focused on identity that

teeters between visibility and abstraction. Like Marshall’s work influenced by Invisible Man, I

seek to express internal absence. I use practical, in-camera techniques—masks, altered shutter

speeds—to obscure my image. This is not just about aesthetics, but about questioning: In what

ways am I responsible for my disconnection? Who have I been—and who am I becoming

through this process of artistic reflection?