Ingredients, 2017
At a young age my brother was diagnosed with schizophrenia, and he resorted to recreational drugs to help him cope with his mental illness. Unable to find a balance between his substance abuse and his mental illness, he would lash out at the closest people to him; oftentimes becoming very aggressive and violent. My brother continued to turn to his drug of choice: methamphetamine, despite deteriorating relationships, destroyed trust, and a tragic loss within the family. In an attempt to understand my brother's continuous use of Meth, I decided to examine the drug more intimately and began photographing the ingredients used in the drug. This displacement of use and value of these everyday products, disguise and create a different facade of temporary euphoria has become extremely fascinating to me. The photographs in, Ingredients, investigate how this re-purpose and use of these objects results to manipulation – of brain and material chemistry – ultimately destroying relationships.