Every image is composed of a single self portrait and layered with queer themes, whether they be from the historic archives of artwork or various forms of queer themes and symbols present within the images, as a means to explore the interactions between past and present within an often suppressed identity. By utilizing the performative aspect of self portraits, I am able to create an intimate relationship between subject and lens. In this way, my body becomes a tool that is just as important to the intention of my art as the camera. By imbedding the historic pieces into my own skin, half covering them and half taking away pieces of myself, I am able to portray the delicate balance between the past and how it shapes the present. It becomes intrinsically locked into my body, woven between, behind, and on top of cut pieces from the self portrait used as the base for the image. Both the self portrait and the archival work become inseparable within the context of the work. The resulting images become representative of a symbiotic relationship, showing how as I am influenced by the artists and artwork that came before me, it also becomes my duty to carry their legacy forward.