Chef

“I have a desire to know who I am and who I was. My series, Notes on Self, investigates these questions as I transform pictures of myself from childhood into the style of daguerreotypes.

The daguerreotype is one of the earliest photography formats and was often used to capture portraits of people post-mortem. I resonated with this idea of capturing the death of my person — the lost versions of me I mourn as a by-product of my queer identity.

I set forth to replicate the aesthetic of daguerreotypes by laser engraving onto aluminum sheets polished to a mirror finish. Reworking these images, away from contemporary printing practices and into this format, mimics the familiar layeredness of personhood.

The experience of viewing these daguerreotypes is intentionally intimate, and they ask you to get up close and personal. When I get up close, I don’t see myself as a chef or a firefighter. I see other things: Kind eyes, a bright smile, a kid who’s figuring out what costume to wear in this world. I see… myself.”