Humans perceive signals from their environment through their five senses. The responses of the senses are integrated into a holistic perception of the world. Removal of one of these senses forces rearrangement of the others. The result is a new, altered perception of space and time. Throughout my life, I’ve lived in an altered state of mind. I was born deaf and have relied throughout my life on artificial means to provide some semblance of sound. The lack of natural hearing heightened my other senses resulting in a perception of the world that differs from that of a hearing person. I sense the world and all of its wonders through sight, touch, scent, and taste, but sound is often a distraction. This notion inspired the idea and direction of my own work and my artistic explorations. Through my work, I hope to explore my personal struggles as a deaf man and also, to transport others into an environment that provides them a new found sensory experience. 

My training in architecture, fashion, and art allows me to exploit and fuse different approaches, resulting in artistic expressions that cannot be conveyed by one discipline alone. The metamorphic outcome of this multidisciplinary approach provides me the opportunity to approach each project from multiple, simultaneous perspectives providing a novel sensory experience. My goal is to provide an experience, through art, that deepens ones appreciation for the multidimensionality of beauty. A symphony orchestra undoubtedly provides an aesthetically pleasing experience through sound. However, the choreography of the conductor and musicians, the emotion expressed by the players and audience, the interplay of vibrations emanating from the diverse instruments all provide a fulfilling, soundless experience that is quite different from the auditory experience.

 In my work, objects, spaces and elements create an altered environment or sensory experience. For example, manipulated geometric foam clinging to a wall surface conveys the perception that the space is being swallowed up by foreign substances. A series of video documentations exploring the barriers of communication from a forced perspective underwater to evoke the struggle of the language barriers cause by deafness. This provokes a reaction that opens a dialogue or self-exploration in asking what the “norm” may be and how the experience is relevant to our daily lives. 

It is with this personal understanding of a heightened sensory environment and a background in multiple disciplines that allows me to freely express my artistic expression as a deaf person. It allows me to appreciate the environment that we all exist in but often see very differently. We exist in a highly tactile world and we must explore that thoroughly in order for us to have a new understanding of oneself and their world.