Artist Statement

Art has always been inescapable for me. Writing poetry feels as necessary as breathing; translating emotion into image and story is a compulsive, lifelong instinct. As I’ve grown and my reality has shifted, the forms have shifted with me—elementary school notebooks filled with fantasy stories, high school songs holding feelings too fragile to speak aloud, and films and photographs in college created in pursuit of something larger than myself.

I work across writing, film, and photography as interconnected languages—each one a different way of recording interior life. My practice is rooted in observation, memory, and emotional transcription, often blurring the line between narrative and documentation. Whether through a script, a still image, or a moving frame, I am drawn to moments that feel unfinished, vulnerable, and quietly charged.

As someone who has never felt “queer enough,” “woman enough,” or “unique enough,” I feel compelled to represent a spectrum of existence rather than a singular identity. In a rapidly shifting social and political landscape, queer representation in art is essential. My work creates space for nonconformity and for the unspoken realities of female adolescence and early adulthood in American society. By foregrounding my own experiences with anxiety and depression, I aim to make others feel seen—embracing the messy, frightening, and deeply unaesthetic truths of mental health.

My art is for the formerly gifted kids who start a million projects and can’t seem to finish one. For twenty-somethings navigating a relentless chorus of What’s next? For the high schoolers who eat lunch alone in musical practice rooms. For older sisters carrying emotional weight. For adults searching for their inner child amid the daily onslaught of societal noise and despair. For anyone who has lived on the margins, craving understanding and proof that they are not screaming into a void.

Having always existed slightly out of sync, my work ultimately seeks to foster belonging—offering recognition, acceptance, and a place to land.

— Lily