My work is aiming for utopia, but I’m willing to settle for just being tolerable. Clay’s ability to immortalize collective and personal experiences, turning the intangible into tangible objects, excites me. Crafting ceramic figurines, vessels, and relief sculptures gives me the power to revise, invent, and project narratives placing queer joy and religious melancholy at the center of my work.
As a Mormon youth, I was powerless to the dominant religious fervor of Utah culture. I would escape into the fantasies surrounding me: Bible stories, tales of righteous men conversing with angels, The Wizard of Oz on VHS, visits to the glitzy Las Vegas strip, and the sparkle of costumed men performing with tigers.
The conflict resulting from my present-day identity as a proud gay man and my past as an obedient Mormon creates a tension utopias are designed to lack. The façade of my objects lures the viewer in with color, narrative, and humor. These elements overshadow the creepy action and unsettling sweetness in each scene, hinting at an unpleasantness lurking beneath the gloss.