A collection of gelatin silver prints including two mural prints measuring approximately 4 ft x 5 ft
My brother has Down Syndrome. Growing up with a “special” sibling meant that I too was different. Looks of curiosity and fear were commonly directed at my family and brother. At times I resented this and wanted him to be the stereotypical “big brother” acting as protector, advocate and friend. However, over the years I became different for reasons of my own accord. I am bisexual. This leaves me outside either classification of straight or gay. I am also the first person in my family who has pursued higher education and am an artist among family that treasures security and practicality. This makes me an outsider within my family. The older I get, the more I find myself connecting with people perceived as different from the majority and the more I identify with the brother I once devalued. This revelation has been the inspiration for this body of work. These images represent a visual inventory of the needs and emotions I perceive as shared between my brother and I. It is an assumption on my part (or possibly transference) because there is so little my brother, Bud, is capable of articulating. We are intimate strangers in so many ways. Furthermore, although the needs and emotions might be shared, the things in our worlds that offer fulfillment of needs or the things that cause the emotions are often different, creating an interesting dichotomy. Overall, I have discovered that my brother is a rich and wonderful gift to me. He accepts me without judgment and I appreciate him fully. He gives me a way to explore myself while I learned to become the protector, advocate and friend he needs more and more in his life. He connects me to family, and to humanity. He helps me see more clearly who I am. He is my link and I hope that I am his.
My brother has Down Syndrome. Growing up with a “special” sibling meant that I too was different. Looks of curiosity and fear were commonly directed at my family and brother. At times I resented this and wanted him to be the stereotypical “big brother” acting as protector, advocate and friend. However, over the years I became different for reasons of my own accord. I am bisexual. This leaves me outside either classification of straight or gay. I am also the first person in my family who has pursued higher education and am an artist among family that treasures security and practicality. This makes me an outsider within my family. The older I get, the more I find myself connecting with people perceived as different from the majority and the more I identify with the brother I once devalued. This revelation has been the inspiration for this body of work. These images represent a visual inventory of the needs and emotions I perceive as shared between my brother and I. It is an assumption on my part (or possibly transference) because there is so little my brother, Bud, is capable of articulating. We are intimate strangers in so many ways. Furthermore, although the needs and emotions might be shared, the things in our worlds that offer fulfillment of needs or the things that cause the emotions are often different, creating an interesting dichotomy. Overall, I have discovered that my brother is a rich and wonderful gift to me. He accepts me without judgment and I appreciate him fully. He gives me a way to explore myself while I learned to become the protector, advocate and friend he needs more and more in his life. He connects me to family, and to humanity. He helps me see more clearly who I am. He is my link and I hope that I am his.