With every order I ship my business card, which on the front features the above left image. When receiving their orders I wonder if everyone thinks, "Who is this kid?"
Well, it's me!
The original image obviously didn't feature the Starfleet pips, or badge, or the Klingon baldric... The original image featured a scared little boy, one who I used to look back on and think, "What a fuck up. Everything that's gone wrong in my life is because this kid did things this way or that way or didn't do enough."
I blamed everything on him, he was fat, he stuttered, he was selfish and dumb (that's what I used to think anyway). It was only in the past year, going to therapy, and dealing with past experiences I can look back and see this kid didn't do anything wrong. Never deserved the ways he was hurt, bullied, abused, or silenced.
Now he's become a source of strength and inspiration for my mental health, relationship, and work as an artist.
I've been watching a lot of Chopped lately, and one thing that always sticks out is a lot of these chefs come on the show and say things like: My family hates what I do, or my dad hasn't talked to me for a year because I became a chef and he doesn't want me to be a chef...so I want to win Chopped so I can prove to them that I did the right thing, that I am good at what I do...
That always breaks my heart a little; how much society has normalized shitty behavior from those that are supposed to provide support, nurturing, and love.
You don't have to prove it to anyone else that you're good at or enjoy what you are doing, only prove it to yourself. Do whatever you are doing and whatever you love because it's what makes you happy. Live your truth.
I'm an artist exploring themes of childhood trauma through the lens of early 90's nostalgia and Science Fiction. I am interested in using the language of hope and futurism instilled in the Sci-fi genre to focus on concepts of mental health in relation to enforced gender roles and societal expectations.
And I came here to party!
