“The human face never lies. It is the only map that records all the territories where we have lived.” Luis Sepulveda, 1998

My work consists of portraits of people with medical disorders that are invisible to the casual observer. I try to photograph the intangible beauty that comes from the mental and physical suffering that often plagues the human condition, but is rarely explored in an honest manner. I’m interested in the painful and exhilarating experiences that color their lives of those suffering from mental and neurological illness and I attempt to reveal them on the faces of my subjects. Using the face as a map of psychological experience, I try to unveil the tell-tale subtleties apparent in each individual’s physiognomy.
Over the course of a year, I photographed individuals who described themselves as being gravely affected by their psychological and/or physiological illness, responding to a relevant ad I placed. Each sitter is positioned against a dark background with no visible signs of clothing, makeup or jewelry. Each person is stripped bare so that nothing distracts from their often piercing gaze. The images, printed larger than life, loom over the audience in a nearly monumental fashion, reversing the power relations that usually exist between the viewer and the viewed, inviting scrutiny at the same time.
Unlike the “Skin Portraits” of Adrienne M. Norman, portraits of skin disease sufferers, my subjects deal with issues of social invisibility, since their conditions are not readily present or visible. To counteract this phenomenon, the subjects are placed literally in the spotlight of the studio environment and asked to talk about their condition. Lit with a dominant source of lighting, their faces are illuminated from one side while the other side remains in shadow, signifying the only partial knowledge one may gain from looking at someone’s face. The simplicity of this lighting setup adds to the drama of the internal conflict each subject appears to face.
The series is informed by the work of contemporary portrait photographers like Andres Serrano, Nan Goldin and Thomas Ruff, as well as glamour and fashion photography. The trappings of glamour portrait photography are used and subverted so that the hidden qualities of the inner self can emerge. While glamour celebrates the exterior appearance of its subjects, my series of portraits aims to unearth the interior life of the people depicted.
Furthermore, all of the people represented are asked to engage the lens, to reach out to the audience and initiate a discussion. The strength they exhibit in engaging with the viewer transcends their potential for victimization and renders them as deeply human. As the project grows, I consider the possibility of written or spoken accounts.

This project consists an attempt at an exploration of the psychological riches of the human condition, as they are amplified at times of strife. This journey has been immeasurably profound for me as an artist and I cherish the people that have contributed and been part of it.

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Originally inspired by the 1928 cult classic film, "The Passion of Joan of Arc", the Ascension series represents the culmination of the portrait series, in so far as it signifies a triumph over the body through its ultimate acceptance.