Loose Ends

Loose Ends (2023), incomplete collage.

Much of my last summer was spent cleaning out the home of my late uncle. The process of cleaning out a loved one’s home is both intimate and distancing. The former because an unfiltered tour of a person’s physical things can shed new light on a person’s life; the latter because it can raise new, and unanswerable questions. What did you find appealing about this colorful — if a bit gaudy — tiffany-style lamp, uncle? Tell me about your trip to Alaska; what is the story of this photo you took?

This collage work is made from photos found in my uncle’s home, from old travels I do not know the stories of. The design of the collage is inspired by his gaudy lamp, whose origin story is also a mystery.

For me, the piece is also about the strange process of inter-generational transformation that is tied up with inheritance. The photos that made this collage represented my uncle’s art, his vision of the world as a traveler and hobbyist photographer. Here, they are reconstituted into something new, filtered through my own lens and understanding.