Saudade
2017Alternatively processed 35mm, collected photographs of the artist’s mother, and various textures from objects within the artist’s home.
Saudade is a Portuguese word: it is a feeling of longing, melancholy, desire, and nostalgia. It describes a deep emotional state; a yearning for a happiness that has passed, or perhaps never even existed. It carries with it a touch of melancholy, yet in that wistfulness there is love as well. One thing is certain: the object or person of that saudade does not inhabit the present space or time.
My work began as a mechanism to cope with my mother’s chronic progressive disease, Multiple Sclerosis. I obsessively created with her image embedded as the subject; questioning how one could portray “the human condition.” Hours spent documenting her gestures shaped my practice into an ongoing narrative, alluding to an inextricably dark yet humorous past. Each piece functions as a glimpse into my stream of consciousness. A tangential view of an inner life bound by the meaning of self.
My work began as a mechanism to cope with my mother’s chronic progressive disease, Multiple Sclerosis. I obsessively created with her image embedded as the subject; questioning how one could portray “the human condition.” Hours spent documenting her gestures shaped my practice into an ongoing narrative, alluding to an inextricably dark yet humorous past. Each piece functions as a glimpse into my stream of consciousness. A tangential view of an inner life bound by the meaning of self.
