the noise of time...

I am focused on making photographs of quiet reflection as an examination of home, family, and loss. In this work, I explore the theme of memory, as well as grief as I attempt to settle into feeling grateful to have had my father in my life at all, instead of the anger I usually experience because he is gone. As a proud black female artist, I feel a responsibility to use my presence to fight under-representation through photography. I explore the fluidity of time–how a polaroid, taken yesterday, can be mistaken for the nostalgia captured in a picture taken in the 70s. I can express the power I feel in photography, bouncing back and forth between now and then. Photographs help me remember and re-live the past sparking my imagination. Although I have no memory of a picture taken of dad holding me as a baby, I can imagine the feeling of the stubble on his face, gently pressed against my cheek. Feeling safe in his arms. Seeing his smile, I can remember the sound of his laugh, and I am transported back in time – through the power of photography. With this work, I ask myself, in what way do the things I decide to bring into this space give it meaning and what does this say about my values? Often alone in this space, I consider, am I lonely or peacefully enjoying the solitude? I share how I exist in my personal space with the intention of eliciting an emotional response and hope viewers relate and are reminded of those small moments from their own lives.