Let’s be honest—it sucks that I feel the need to write this. It also sucks that this is what finally pushed me to pick up my camera for something like this. But here it is: your disclaimer.

 

This series of photographs reflects my deep concern with the current state of our country. I believe the actions of our executive branch are increasingly unconstitutional, damaging, and dangerous to the freedoms we claim to hold sacred.

 

I don’t write this only as an artist but as a person trying to survive under these policies. I am forced to choose between paying rent, buying groceries, or affording my diabetic medicine—insulin that literally keeps me alive. I’m still carrying the weight of student loan debt from a minor degree I don’t even use, dating back to 2012, and it continues to shape my future.

 

And now, my daughter has started school for the first time. I fear for her safety in a country where violence is too common and division runs too deep. More than anything, I hope she doesn’t grow up jaded under this regime, but instead can one day experience the freedoms and unity that we’ve been promised but rarely delivered. If it weren’t for her, I’d be out there trying to make a difference more directly. But for her sake, I’m here—using less invasive ways to open people’s eyes, hoping these photographs will reach hearts and stir minds.

 

Beyond my own struggles, I see my friends and loved ones—especially those in the LGBT and immigrant communities—living in fear, despite this country’s constant claims of being a “melting pot.” The atmosphere of fear and division is hauntingly familiar. I’m no historian, but the parallels to the Nazi rise to power, to Vietnam-era paranoia, and to the Kent State massacre—where the government deployed the National Guard against students who posed no real threat—are impossible to ignore.

 

Recent moves to criminalize expressions such as flag burning only tighten the grip of fear tactics and chip away at our rights. These are the hallmarks of a slide toward fascism and oligarchy, where dissent is punished and freedoms are systematically erased.

 

This work is not meant to shock for shock’s sake. It is a warning. A reminder that if we do not recognize and resist government overreach, history is bound to repeat itself. And for clarity: neither I, nor the model in these photographs, have committed any crimes in their making.

 

If these photos offend you, please understand that was never my intention. But under the laws already in place, I have the right to create and share them—and Donald Trump’s words against such freedoms are unconstitutional. If you are offended by this work, I would kindly ask that we do not do business together, and I encourage you to take a hard look at what you actually consider “freedom.”