I believe that, as a society, we’re sadder than we let on. We hide our sadness because showing it means lowering our guard and revealing our vulnerability. In my photos, I choose to embrace that sadness and turn it into relatability. My work focuses mainly on self-portraits, where I use props and visual effects to explore and express themes of mental health.

In my Self-Reflection series, I explore the struggle of hiding behind a mask to conceal sadness. I use Vaseline to represent the distortion of self that comes from constantly hiding mental health struggles. The images have a cooler tone to create a somber mood, and I pose my face at an angle to reflect how I see myself—as half a person.