I use animal imagery in my artwork as a way to express my struggles with mental illness. My wildlife collection speaks to many things, with a large theme being the correlation between animals, mental illness, and society. An example of this theme is the connection that mental illness and certain animals in my collection share: they both carry a perception of danger. Each animal in my collection has either a theme or a story to tell. I have portrayed a variety of animals in my work, as mental illness exists throughout our world. I chose to draw many of the animals in pairs, often depicting a parent and child. This speaks to another main theme in my collection: the unbiased nature of mental health, which inflicts both youth and adults.  

The animals that I portray stand for our complex variety of human emotions. They represent love and fear as well as a need for awareness around the fragile subject of mental health.