PROPS:

I grew up in Long Island, NY, with parents from Rockaway and Belle Harbor, Queens. Their fascination and awe of the great metropolis has always inspired me, and I moved to Brooklyn at 18, almost immediately after graduating high school. I just had a love affair with the city, and couldn’t get enough of the concrete jungle.

The subliminal signage of subways, sewer systems, electricity, and esp the old red fire call boxes, that used to stand on nearly every other block, are big influences in my work. Both of my moms brothers were fire-fighters, part of the NYFD. It’s only now as I write this that I realize what a connection to them I’ve had and how inspiring they were to my art practice. The color red is my color for branding, painting, lipstick, and the like! It’s fire-y, warm, inviting, and captures the eye. It stands out in nature, like red rose on a bush. NYC has so many pops of red. Mainly used to make you aware of emergency exits, firehose mounts, WET PAINT signs, etc. We tend to overlook the power of signage. Street signs, warning signs, fire stations, emergency telephone lines, etc...But these are the very things we cling to in order to survive.

These simple yet powerful graphics have become an ingrained part of both my psyche and my art. The submersible quality of the everyday mundane. A universal language distinguished by color and clarity. They’ve also helped me fall in love with type, graphic design and GRAFFITI. Graff is another one of those things that make you look and try to decipher what it says, sending messages to those that are “aware” and “awake”. Submersing the psyche of those around it without them even being conscious of it!