I think every person has a unique story to tell and we each have the different life events that happen to us and sometimes we may feel sympathetic toward a certain aspect of that life event.

I write and I write and a lot of times I go back to the American lens, though sometimes it's a struggle to come from that perspective.

When I was in the sixth grade my friend and I always won writing contests, and we read a lot of books. We were always the ones that read the most books in class. I thought about writing but visual arts weren't part of my vocabulary.

I think that through the narratives of other people you get closer to your own.

It's really hard when you read literature in a language that's not your own. There are all these cultural references you have to be born into that particular language to get.

Even if you look in the dictionary you know the meaning of the word or phrase, but there's still the feeling of it.

I'm also developing my own narrative, because I'm the son of a widow. And so, while working with women and gathering their oral histories, I'm taking a step back to do my own art book and visual work.