ARTIST STATEMENT

The rodeo is still a beautiful place.

And while the reality isn’t as polished as it appears, the dream remains. People still romanticize the life of a cowboy. From riding across open land, hearing the crowd roar your name, girls finding themself a cowboy, boys getting all of the girls. For the contestants, these moments become memories they carry as they chase something bigger: traveling from one rodeo to the next, climbing the ranks, trying to make a name for themselves, living up to the family legacy.

For the audience, it’s a chance, if only for a night, to imagine being them. For me it’s about a community that will open its arms to a girl who felt so lost in the world.

This ongoing series exists in that space between perception and truth. It is the perspective of an outsider looking into a world that is deeply romanticized by some and deeply nostalgic for others. It captures pride, heartbreak, and the quiet, enduring passion that lives behind the spectacle.

In a time shaped by constant digital consumption, these moments feel increasingly rare with fleeting experiences rooted in the presence, memories, and connections. Moments that may not come again in the same way.

The work is primarily shot digitally, using a mix of modern and vintage lenses, then shaped through color and texture to echo the feeling of nostalgia that surrounds the rodeo.