Artist's Statement

Everybody has a story. Everybody is going through a journey. Everybody displays that story or that journey to some extent. I am intrigued by everybody's story. I long to know of their journey. I have a passion to capture that story, not only in my mind, not only in my heart, but also in my photographs. I love to capture the story of people's sorrow, joy, confusion, frustration, contentment. Having people's story in a photograph is like holding a piece of them, of their heart, in my hands. I feel honored to be able to possess that piece of people. I admit that I photograph people's story of sorrow, confusion, and frustration more than anything else. I am not quite sure exactly why, but I do have some speculations. I might capture their sorrow and sadness to compare it with mine. After this comparison of our stories of sorrow, do I really have a reason to be sad? Most often I do not; they always seem more qualified to be sad. Another speculation is that if I see their sadness and discover what is causing their sorrow, maybe I can help them(empathy/sympathy). Or, it could be that I like seeing other people's sorrow because I can see that I am not the only one who is suffering; but that we all are to some extent. Different people, different stories--one tie that binds: sorrow and sadness.