For most of my life, especially during my adolescence, I felt like I didn’t have a voice; I essentially lived inside my head. Depression and hyper-passion have followed me persistently the entire way. Through photography, I found that I can express myself in a way that is raw and real - the black and white images I make communicate raw, unscripted emotions, which are beyond words. Photography has become a way for me to express and give voice to those inner rumblings of being young and growing up.

My photographs express both dark and light emotions. The darkness reflects my own struggles with anxiety and depression as well as feelings of loneliness and alienation. The light reflects an intimacy and inhibition I have seen and experienced among people who are not afraid to be themselves and who possess the bravery to imagine a place free of social restraints - a place of uncensored human communication. I have tried to create a visual world reminiscent of the way I felt growing up, alienated from the seemingly fake and uninspiring world around me - however safe, in a secret hiding place where my few close friends and I did not have to sensor our actions. This secret hiding place being somewhere absurd behavior is encouraged, as the actions of the participants are catalyzed by energy created in hiding, from a mundane and socially repressive world.

I try to achieve a dreamlike feel through the imagery and print quality of my pictures. I work in black and white because of its warmth and stripped down elegance. Black and white communicates in a way that is raw and severe, which I think gives the images strength.

The visual scenarios of my images are usually ambiguous and leave a lot to be determined by the imagination of the viewer. Parts of the pictures are often out of focus to aid in this dreamlike feeling. In my images the lines are unclear to reflect how our feelings are very often complex and unresolved. I strive for the effect that the filmmaker David Lynch achieves. He takes you to a strange and surreal place, both exhilarating and frightening. You may not understand everything about it, but you love the way it makes you feel and you want to go back.

-Joshua Sandler