I rely heavily on symbols and allegories in all my work. The works are developed using layers of screen printing, applied (painted) color, gilding, and drawing. For “Homoerectus,” I have selected pieces from “Everything and Nothing” inspired by and referencing Classical Antiquity. The pieces are meant to be both poignant and (oftentimes) funny, sometimes frightening and loaded with phallocentric erotic imagery. The phallocentricity is meant to be, depending on the specific work examined, a critique of the male ego and/or a celebration of gay lust. While the homoerotic is a crucial part of the work, these pieces also allow me to use the art history I love in my studio practice. I reference my sketches done over the years in museums, drawings and photos from my life drawing classes, and vintage, printed porn as the material for these works. The words and phrases in ancient Greek or Latin come from sources such as funerary tablets in the Istanbul Archeological Museum, texts from Roman monuments, and ancient potty-mouth graffiti, or they are made up by me and translated into an ancient tongue.