Artist Statement
Aaron Jay Young
My work is my passion. It is a culmination of all my life experiences - the pain, the trauma, the work I’ve done to find forgiveness, love, and compassion - not just for myself but for others. The process allows me to see other people, their pain, their joy, their vulnerability, and capture it authentically. It is with my camera that I take this journey; through self-portraits and through portraiture of others.
It’s a very intimate experience; when a subject is in front of me, whether it’s for 30 seconds, or much longer. There is an undeniable connection that is established. We exchange a sense of trust. All other distractions fall away and it is my sole purpose to see them and to capture those moments of truth.
Self-portraits are a way for me to expose not only my own inner world, but the inner world of others; to capture emotional states that are not encouraged to be shown in our society. Yet this is the very essence of what everyone can relate to throughout their own moments in life.
aaron@aaronjayyoung.com