THE ALLEYS ARE GALLERIES

My artistic journey began with the gritty, raw undercurrents of the DTES, where I spent years on the fringes, engaging with the complexities of addiction, survival, and community in the margins of the sex and drug trade. The years that followed—spent helping others, rebuilding myself, and being part of this community—have imbued my work with an intimate understanding of life on the streets. Through my lens, I aim to give voice to the often-overlooked stories of my neighborhood, reframing the narrative of what is typically dismissed as “graffiti.” For over a decade, I have been documenting the texts and markings left by people on the walls, windows, and lampposts of the DTES, capturing what I believe to be important moments of urban conversation, connection, and resistance. This body of work is a tribute to the resilience of the people in my community and an effort to memorialize their voices.

As a multidisciplinary artist, my work spans various mediums—painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, and light installations. I embrace materials that are often unconventional, finding inspiration in the discarded, the overlooked, and the “cheap.” My practice is eclectic: from acrylic and watercolor paintings with assemblage elements of rhinestones, to the tactile textures of stone carving and sand casting. I create with a sense of play, often working with candy, yarn, or jello, bringing humor, spectacle, and absurdity into the studio. I believe that beauty and provocation are not mutually exclusive, and I strive to make my work accessible and engaging for everyone.

In my art, I weave together the serious with the humorous, the dark with the light, and the personal with the communal. I explore themes of social justice, identity, and the ways in which humor, irony, and satire can be powerful tools for social critique. I’m interested in creating work that speaks to the complexities of our shared human experience—where the party atmosphere and cheeky irreverence coexist with deeper, often uncomfortable truths.

Light, color, and line are constant threads in my practice, as is my deep consideration of space, history, and context. I often incorporate text into my work—whether it’s the fragmented words of the DTES or new phrases that challenge conventional thinking. My intention is not only to create visually stimulating, aesthetically pleasing work, but also to spark reflection and dialogue. Through my art, I aim to make the invisible visible, to elevate the voices of those who are often silenced, and to bring attention to the overlooked moments of everyday life.

In everything I create, I am driven by the desire to make art that is approachable, relatable, and transformative, while always staying true to the complexities of the human experience. My work is a celebration of beauty, of struggle, of survival, and of the power of community.