I have been a photographer for nearly twenty years. I have been a painter for half that time, and I bring a painter’s vision to my photography. My main subject has always been people, whether it is making their portraits, capturing them living their lives, or documenting the world as they create it. I often come back to self-portraiture. It is the most direct way I can speak about myself and connect to the viewer. This photograph was made in a time of uncertainty. I had recently finished graduate school and moved to New York City, and I was unsure of my place in the art world and the world at large. This portrait was an attempt at showing something essential.