Initially the project was to focus on the alienation I felt after returning to Canada from living in Africa for the last 5 years.
The project evolved to address the estrangement that pushed me away from my family at that time, and the fractures that were caused by my parents separating 5 years ago.
In each photo, I bring together pieces from both my mother and father’s homes, imagining what our homes would look like if they were still together today. From photo albums to paintings by loved ones, each piece is layered with meaning and pieces of past lives. I place myself at the center of the frame, grappling with my feelings of being out of place – bare and left out in the cold – finding shelter in my own fantasies of home.
death of the family
how do I grieve alone?
do i bathe in my regret,
deny my denial,
contemplate
our contamination.
do i numb myself
with alcohol and opioids —
induce a slow death
fraught with
moments of levity
and others
heavy with poison.
death of the family
how do i heal from this?
isolated by my isolation,
i pretend to forget
when all i can do
is remember.
— family portrait ii