Outside MOCA at the Geffen Contemporary, in the middle of Los Angeles' Little Tokyo, I was inspired to take these photographs of me and my boyfriend as we walked through the parking lot to my car. The shadows give me a new perspective on myself. Devoid of recognizable facial features, the self looks very different - refreshing and less distracting. The focus falls upon the shapes and lines, the interplay of lines and contours. Drama can be seen in the movement of the shadows, created by our movement. This series of photographs involving me and my boyfriend was taken in April.

I love self-portraits. I like the fact that I have control over access to the subject and permission to do as I want with it. Another important aspect to it is that I own the copyright to all the photos I take. I could be nude, I could be role-playing or acting. Art is personal. Many artists draw from the personal. I believe in that. I've learned from my feminist classes at UCLA that the "personal is political." The saying is cliche by now, but its implication remains powerful.

My art is autobiographical for the most part, for now at least. I am interested in taking it elsewhere. I explore myself through self-portraits, as Cindy Sherman has explored herself and issues through her self-portraits. Cindy Sherman developed and delivered her commentary about female existence through photos of herself in different situations and as different characters. She reaffirms one's self as a worthy subject. I think that's a big part in feminist art. From a female and feminist perspective, Sherman gets into character and comments about herself and the plight of women in society. She by trying on different roles as she attempts to find herself and her voice in the process.

Her untitled series of black and white photographs is my favorite. I am thinking about her because she was part of the exhibit, "Street Credibility," that I saw at MOCA in April. She's one of my biggest inspiration.

Another photographer who made an imprint on me from the exhibit was Lee Friedlander. He and fellow street photographer, Garry Winogrand, were part of the "Street Credibility" exhibit. I love Lee Friedlander's photographs of people on the streets of downtown New York. He's my other inspiration.