Artist Statement

Tarot is a game of poetry and introspection:  The 78-card deck illustrates a constellation of the psyche, the formless patterns common to us all.  Deciphering the cards is a creative act based in symbology, empathy, and dream logic.  Some interpreters use the cards for fortune-selling, psychotherapy or hippy seances; I use Tarot as an interlocutor between myself and others, so that I may explore places of interaction and document the individuals with whom we share these spaces.  The premise is deceptively simple:  I ask participants to pick 3 tarot cards at random, decipher them if they wish, and then photograph them with their spread.   Each photo tells a story and reflects a personal interaction, as well as calls into question a sequence of events that led up to each encounter.  By documenting these interactions, places, and people, I hope to portray my presence in a city as a "psychic topography", a network of people and places that shape the culture I participate in.  A Stranger Constellation seeks to render a mandala that celebrates human connections and recognize that we are all active agents under the influence of the world.