The exploration of the “self” is a modest one; in its normal use, it is not even quite a word, but something that makes an ordinary object pronoun into a reflexive one: her into herself, him into himself and it into itself.

“Under the Influence” continues the exploration of the politics involved in contemporary urban art culture. This series of photographs, paintings, and mixed media objects examine the place of the artist within a social context. In his position
as social commentator, the artist is subject to cultural criticism. This dynamic becomes a cyclical relationship: the artist
responds to criticism by producing more work which is then subjected to further criticism. This series of self-portraits
depicts the artist as “himself” as a participant in this symbiotic relationship.