"Home In Memory"

I am curious about the fluidity of memory and time, particularly how both shape and shift our perception surrounding self. Home in Memory explores how I understand my identity through photographs. The work combines past family snapshots with recent pictures of my family at my childhood home in Fort Worth, Texas. At the project's core is the tension between the nostalgia of home life and the alienation I feel as I navigate adulthood, reflecting on the impact of leaving my family behind to pursue my education. I am examining how relationships with my family and environment shape who I am today.

I was inspired by Bell Hooks’ essay "In Our Glory: Photography and Black Life" because she writes about the power structures that made black representation invisible in our culture. She describes how the photograph is used as a tool for self-discovery and its ability to preserve and create history. Hooks’ essay has informed my process of observing and taking photographs, recognizing how spaces and moments inform and ground an understanding of self.