Cultural Parasitism is a series concerned with one’s separation from a large group. The original intention of the series was to comment on the differences that exist between the United States and other nations. The series, created in 2003, was made in a time that had witnessed the coming together of nations after the events of September 11th, 2001, the invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq by the United States and by 2003 the reduction in support of how the US was fighting its “War on Terror.” The series inspired by these events also attempts to put visual form to the importance of individualism in the history of the United States.

After revisiting the series in 2009, however, I believe that Cultural Parasitism had just as much to do with my personal separation from a larger group than it did with my country’s separation from other nations. The series was created shortly after I received my BFA. At this time I was recently separated from my undergraduate community, had not yet found a community outside of school and felt quite isolated myself.