Exploration of the self as an individual and as a part of a societal whole is the most significant influence behind my work. I use my work as a means for self-exploration through self- expression.

For example, the piece titled “Var Så God” (a Swedish phrase meaning “Help yourself”) involved extensively researching my family history. For the work, I purchased a family lineage DNA test, then layered the resulting DNA profile with taut transparencies bearing my family tree as well as vials of my own blood that were labeled with my various nationalities. I wanted this piece to portray the struggle of attempting to uncover one’s heritage without the assistance of older generations and also address the frustration that can come with losing sources of knowledge about heritage and tradition.

An additional venue of self-exploration is that of discovering myself as a woman and my own gender identity. Not only on a personal level am I interested in the idea of gender identity but also in the realm of the society that I live in and am subjected to. I have always felt pressure from mass media as well as other women in my life to look and act more “feminine”. However, any attempts on my part to fit the mold of what others regard as feminine have been met with unwelcome surprise, criticism and often time rejection. Therefore, with my most recent exploration and work, I am attempting to define and take comfort in my own personal femininity. Although I have researched feminist ideas of the past and would consider myself to be feminist, this feminism does not have roots in the manifestos of those before me. The only roots my notion of feminism can adhere to are those of my own person, myself as an individual. I can’t be defined as a woman, an artist, an IT professional, a mechanic, a tom-boy, a cook, a handyman, a knitter but I can be defined by all of these things together.

My process for work related to these ideas is to make my male and female duality meld into one such as with the work titled “The Horror of Cooking”. In this work, I wore a dress and apron along with a faceshield then prepared and cooked a meal using power tools to create large scale photographs of the process.

I hope to, with my work, become more comfortable with my gender identity and also make commentary on what others regard as acceptable gender identities and gender roles. I also hope to define my own feminism and possibly provide other women that do not fit the standard role of the heterosexual female a means to find solace and comfort in themselves.