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As an identical twin, I’ve often struggled both to embrace and defend my sense of self, unable to deny the similarities that exist between my sister and me. My work seeks to confront these discrepancies through a series of performative photographs comprised of myself and my twin. By repeatedly photographing us --while either similarly or identically dressed, and within the same nondescript, institutional space-- I attempt to play up the expectations which typically surround twins: that we are seemingly joined at the hip or mutually reliant to the point of absurdity; that we seek to mimic one another with the ultimate intention of perpetuating a conglomerate identity as “Twins.”

 

Paying close attention to the occupancy of the frame, figural space, and contextual impact of images side-by-side, my work portrays a sense of frustration through photographic aggression and disembodiment (hence their diptych pairings). The use of text is meant to contradict the general ambiguity of the images themselves as well as their lack of specificity regarding location and time.

 

By pairing my photographs with anecdotal narratives, I seek to provide a sense of humor in challenging the fetishizing dependencies commonly associated with identical twinhood. My intention with this is not only to criticize such assumptions, but to also poke fun at my own (very real) separation anxieties by way of blatant exaggeration. In drawing attention toward my own fears through self-awareness, I attempt both to perpetuate and reveal the personal and public perceptions of twins and identity.