AJ Schnettler is a nonbinary, multi-racial photographer/printmaker born and raised on the south shore of Long Island. They decided to get a new perspective on life and education by moving to the West Coast for their BFA. They received their Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in photography with a minor in printmaking from the San Francisco Art Institute in 2019. Their work is based around what one does to provide self-comfort, whether it is through identity or through the space surrounding them, and how to feel at peace; as well as work discussing mental health, specifically depression and anxiety in relation to body dysmorphia, and childhood trauma. Their printmaking work more specifically discusses the topics of depression and anxiety.