Impossible Diamonds

When I was young, I wanted nothing more than to fit in. Eager to please, I colored within the lines. For my brother, conformity was for the birds. I wanted him to be normal like me; he wanted me to be normal like him. Yet our differences dissolved in the natural world, where we could simply be.

Years later, I found myself wanting to color outside the lines. I rediscovered a box of my father’s old scientific teaching materials—prisms, mirrors, lasers, along with journals and postcards. Because he was a math and science teacher, our home was filled with objects that bent light and magnified the unseen. Overwhelmed by a desire to escape back into the imaginary world of my youth, I began using these optical elements as a portal, working in dialogue with the camera to evoke moments of wonder and play.

This project is a sensory exploration of the natural world, offering mystery, magic, and healing. My process allows me to see places I know by heart through a new lens. Letting go of the notion of trying to please everybody, I use optical elements in conjunction with a traditional camera to create non-traditional photographs. In doing so, I question the camera’s relationship to shared reality by creating images that reveal hidden interior spaces alongside the visible world. Impossible Diamonds challenges notions of normalcy—both within the photographic image and within ourselves—inviting wonder, play, and imaginative freedom. The work is a quiet nod to my brother, and to the moments when differences fell away.