ARTIST STATEMENT
My work explores queer identity, memory, and visibility through a blend of documentary, narrative, and experimental film. I’m especially drawn to stories that exist outside the mainstream—people and perspectives that have been forgotten, misrepresented, or excluded from dominant narratives. I aim to create work that celebrates queer life while honoring its complexity and emotional truth.
Influenced early on by cult films and music videos, I have always gravitated towards a camp aesthetic and sought to imbue both intimacy and inclusivity in storytelling approach. I often work with Super 8mm film, archival footage, and layered sound design to evoke emotional memory and texture. I’m drawn to imperfect mediums because they reflect how we remember and don't mask the inherently participatory nature of non-fiction filmmaking.
My process is rooted in collaborative care. I begin with a story or subject I feel a deep personal connection to—often one that reflects broader questions around queer identity, erasure, and legacy. From there, I gather narrative and visual threads through interviews, research, reenactments, and performance. I’m less interested in traditional structure and more focused on how the work holds space—for humor, grief, nostalgia, and transformation.
One of my ongoing projects, Ballgowns, is a Super 8mm series that combines personal interviews with stylized imagery and narration. Each piece begins with a one-on-one portrait session where my participants share their coming out stories, reflections on identity, and thoughts on what the queer community needs now. The series was featured at the Sou’wester for Pride Month 2023 and continues to evolve as a living archive of queer experience.
My current feature documentary, Dear Doris, tells the story of Doris Fish, an Aussie turned San Francisco drag icon and underground filmmaker whose creative and advocacy work shaped a generation of queer aesthetics. The film examines not just Doris’s life and art, but the broader themes of sex work, cultural erasure, and creative legacy. It reflects a core concern in my work: preserving queer histories and honoring the creative lives that helped build our culture—especially if they were never formally recognized.
My work on Dear Doris and Lulu's Clubhouse has been supported by two Regional Arts & Cultural Council grants, a Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence grant, two Portland Arts and Film Office grants, a Seattle Pride Artist Residency in 2023, as well as the Sou’wester Artist Residency and The Fellow Ship 2024. This support has been critical in getting projects off the ground, but also affirming in my artistic path here in Oregon.
Beyond directing, I see film as a tool for community-building. In 2023, I co-founded I Saw That: Queer Movie Club, a monthly screening series in Portland that creates space for LGBTQ2IA+ people to connect through cinema. I also collaborate regularly with queer performers and musicians, creating music videos and visual content that merge storytelling with activism, play, and personal truth.
At this stage in my practice, I’m exploring the boundaries between personal and collective memory, and the intersection of film, installation, and live experience. I’m curious about how archival storytelling can become an act of resistance and reimagining, not just preservation. I want my work to create emotional and historical space—for reflection, visibility, and affirmation.