As a Queer artist, I have always been drawn to what lies hidden in shadows. In the popular imagination, these shadows are often inhabited by flamboyant, gender-bending monsters and villains. Growing up as a feminine boy, I sought refuge in these shadows as a means of escaping ridicule and violence. At the same time, they made me feel both invisible and isolated. As I developed my artistic voice, I found inspiration in the people, places, and objects that society deemed obsolete, from abandoned beach towns and forgotten pulp fiction writers to outdated analog video equipment. But it is the stories and histories of the Queer people who lived during the homophile era, before the Stonewall uprising of 1969, that are perhaps the most forgotten and discarded of all. I am fascinated by the lives of my Queer ancestors who were forced to live underground out of fear of persecution and whose stories were hidden or destroyed. Through my work, I strive to shed light on the forgotten and overlooked, bringing them back to life in a modern context. By unifying all of these disparate fragments through a Queer lens, my art creates a space where their significance can be discovered in a new light.