This body of work is rooted in my personal struggle with masking, recovery from substance use disorder, and an ongoing commitment to mental health awareness and mindfulness. Through self-portraiture, I explore the many versions of myself I have created to survive. These constructed personas are built from humor, control, and the performance of stability that concealed what was occurring beneath the surface.

In these images, I introduce physical barriers between myself and the camera to visualize the emotional and psychological layers I have accumulated over time. They document how identity fractures when shaped by addiction, avoidance, and the social imperative to appear "okay." This accumulation of masks creates a sensation of drowning, raising a question that threads through the work: “Where does the performance end and I begin?”

Recovery has not been about simply removing these masks, but learning to recognize them and understand why they exist. Mindfulness has played a key role in that process. I have slowed down enough to see myself more clearly, without immediately trying to fix or hide what I find. Some images in this series feel chaotic, while others are more still and direct, reflecting that ongoing tension between avoidance and awareness.

This work is not about resolution or perfection. It is about honesty. By turning the camera on myself, I explore the tension between wanting to hide and the effort to be seen as I am. My hope is that viewers recognize something of themselves in this because the instinct to mask, to protect, and to perform, is not unique. In acknowledging the presence of these masks, the work seeks to create space for honesty, self-recognition, and the possibility of reconnection with who we really are.