Acquired for Private Collection
Left Is Right explores the tension between identity, expectation, and self-expression through a balance of realism and abstraction. Moments of detailed rendering act as anchors before giving way to playful mark-making, allowing the process itself to become part of the story.
Throughout the piece, familiar symbols take on layered meanings: a left ear piercing referencing outdated ideas of masculinity, duct tape suggesting silence, a cigarette hinting at self-sabotage, black and white stripes nodding to “straight pride,” and a rainbow eye reclaiming queer identity. Jewelry and a flower soften the figure while challenging assumptions about strength and masculinity.
At its core, this work was a therapeutic exploration of embracing contradiction. It doesn’t ask the viewer to find a single answer, only to consider how identity is shaped by the labels we inherit, reject, and redefine.