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This is obviously not cohesive yet, in any form, but here are some of the brainstorms and ramblings I've come up with thus far.

I don’t expect my visual documentation of modified people to end with the culmination of Under the Influence. I plan to continue.

There is more individual variation WITHIN a group than BETWEEN groups, the people represented in this show are just as varied in personality and outlook on life as you are from anyone else. Their one commonality is modifications. Passing judgment on a modified person solely because of his or her modifications is no different than passing judgment on a person because of his or her sexual orientation, skin color, religion, or ethnicity. Modified people do not CHOOSE to be modified – they do it because it is who they are meant to be.

Their personal testaments will show you that it is unfair and completely incorrect to make pre-conceived judgments about lifestyle, religion, etc. based on the fact that they have tattoos, piercings, and other modifications.

Even MY view of modified people has changed as a result of this show and interviewing people, learning more about the lives of these kind, beautiful people.

It is not my belief, nor do I hope, that every person who views my show will instantly shed all pre-conceived notions that they may hold about heavily pierced or tattoo people. It is my hope, however, that all who view my show will question these pre-conceived notions, learn to not judge others (all “others,” not just people with tattoos and piercings) based on physical appearance.
Just because you don’t see tattoos or piercings, doesn’t mean someone isn’t covered in ink or metal underneath their clothing. A nurse with full sleeve tattoos. A teacher with stretched ear lobes. A doctor who attends suspension shows in her spare time.

Tattoos and piercings are readily-accepted parts of life in many developed countries around the world. So why do so many people in the United States, one of the most developed countries in the world, have a problem accepting this? Having tattoos, piercings, and other modifications does NOT make a person any less intelligent than a person who has no modifications. Just as the LACK of modifications does not make a person any more intelligent than a person with heavy modifications.

The era in which tattoos and piercings were the sole territory of sailors and criminals is over.
This is a lesson not only in promoting body modification, but in promoting acceptance of all people who may be physically unlike ourselves.

When people view these works, there is often a sense of discomfort or aversion. These works sometimes depict body alterations with which most people are not familiar and, as a result, not comfortable. However, despite the fact that viewers often feel an initial repugnance to the modifications, they are drawn back again and again because of the subconscious connection they feel to the person in the painting. Sometimes the figure boasts a confident aura, other times an uncertain and self-conscious demeanor, but viewers always end up coming back to read more into the person and his or her modifications. My works unlock the oft forgotten and rarely touched quality in humanity nowadays – Empathy. In my works, viewers recognize very basic emotions, like fear, confidence, reluctance, or humility, and they subconsciously call to mind an instance in which they felt a similar emotion, and they realize that these people, sometimes vastly different from themselves physically, are more like them than they think. At this point, discriminations dissolve and fall away, making way for a purely connective emotional experience. My hope with these most recent works is that even a fraction of this understanding and empathy will remain with the viewer long after.

These works focus less on background detail – indeed the background is nearly ignored altogether! – to hone in on what I believe is truly important in understanding people in everyday life – faces. The face is a means of universal interaction, communicating emotion when we want it to be shared, and sometimes when we do not. Although the face is indeed part of us, working in conjunction with who we are, it sometimes betrays us. I find this fascinating.