Growing Up; Growing Apart

This past year I went on walks with my mom, swapped weekly dinners with my parents, and saw my siblings during regular video calls. Each moment where we were joined together brought an opportunity to document this period of distance. New ways of connecting helped me appreciate the bonds within my family more deeply. 

The interactions with my family were what I had expected to photograph. But, the moments I was alone lead to me to explore and confront the idea of how my physical body is a reflection of my family. My features can connect back to my parents. When I look at my face, I see myself, but I also see how they shaped me. 

These parallel expressions of connection are what my project culminated into. Each image relates back to a link to my family that I have explored while being physically distanced. 

The tradition of documenting time is part of my family’s heritage. Journaling, letter writing, photography, and even sewing have all been used as ways to document time.

My images reflect a sense of time and place, grounding myself as the artist within this moment. The quilt collages bring me out of the present into a space of tradition and timelessness. Each pattern uses traditional quilting techniques passed through generations. The patterns reflect ideas of purity and womanhood. 

My body is not pure. My body is complicated and raw. It was uncomfortable to confront my physical presence as a reflection of my parents. That is why I chose to explore it. 

Growing up with my family and now growing apart because of disease gave me the space to explore my own relationship to my body and family.