I shoot, You shoot

Shot in 2016, this body of work set the trajectory of my photographic journey — sparking my interest in the mediation of the phone in my life as I processed its influence on my social and sexual development as a young closeted gay man whose awakening coincided with the rapid growth of image sharing platforms (Snapchat, Instagram, etc). This study considered sexualized self portraiture through the vantage point of the phone, the ensuing compositions behind these instances of self portraiture, and began my fascination and practice of documenting intimate intersections of the body and the relationship between skin and fabric. I began this topographical analysis as a way to find comfort with intimate proximity which prompted a journey of erotic cartography — mapping the body as a charged field of exploration using the camera, the screen itself, as both a conduit for connection and simultaneously a constraint against the touch it appears to offer.