FOR I AM HIM AND HE IS ME

     This series, For I am him, and he is me, was sparked by my grandfather's sudden passing from cancer and my father’s brush with death last year. My father has struggled with mental health issues and drug abuse for years, which has estranged our relationship. In this work, I portray our relationship through photographs which explore the distance that remains between us. This is an exploration of fatherhood from my point of view.

          An important part of this project are the portraits that I made of my father and I to show the pain we share and the awkwardness that lingers when we are together. We still don’t have a good relationship, so taking and composing these photographs is very mentally and emotionally straining for both of us. The pictures are as much about the process of making them as they are about the final outcome. 

           I like to think that we made most of these photos as a collaboration and this work is his as much as it is mine. As humans we often fall into a circle of making the same mistakes that our parents made. I made these photographs to process my thoughts on fatherhood, inspire others to think about their relationship with their parents, and create a space for healing and the possibility of rebuilding the relationship that I have with my father.