For the last decade, I have been living a double life. By day, I am a parent, artist, and educator while most nights I assume my role as a licensed private investigator, out on surveillance or conducting research. My artistic practice uses photography, video, and performance to frame the dynamic complexities of survival tools I have developed resulting from trauma, perseverance, and resilience. The necessity to become my own advocate, bodyguard, and investigator motivates me to create this artwork that combines surveillance, self-portrait as sousveillance, and documentation with a focus on finding self-empowerment. Previous projects such as No Trespassing (2007–2010) and Dear Erin Hart, (2011–2014) used surveillance and sousveillance similarly as methods to document my processes of seeking justice.

I completed the six thousand work hours required for a New Mexico private investigator’s license and received my license in January 2018. My continued work as an investigator supports and empowers clients, often when the police are not able or willing to help their case. While my focus has been on domestic violence, human trafficking, and missing persons, I have taken on a wide range of cases. My clients are often marginalized in ways that make it impossible for them to do the field work or research that could lead to information and self-empowerment. Having originally started this adventure for this ongoing art project, private investigation has become an integral part of my life.

This multidisciplinary project synthesizes my experience as a P.I. into four different types of artworks, which include framed photographs, multi-media installation, video, and performance. I explore my work with disguise, surveillance, and balancing my safety with acquiring the information needed by those who hire me. First person sousveillance videos share intimate details of each case (as confidentiality permits) as I am performing the necessary tasks. Photographs of myself in varying disguises reveal the lengths I must go to conduct surveillance. My performances immerse viewers into acts that encourage them to consider their own positions of power and privilege. Multi-media installations use surveillance technology to engage the audience with questions around privacy.

This body of work is made up of archival inkjet prints ranging in size 9x12” to 38x42”, Polaroid prints, single-channel video with audio, performance, and accompanying texts.