This work interrogates my relation to my family as both documentarian and image-maker and emerged as a way to contemplate my recent stay in my grandfather’s home. I previously resided in the space as a child and became the last family member to occupy its rooms upon the passing of both my grandparents. The images examine our family’s patriarchy and our association with faith-based practice.

The rooms of the home act as spaces for meditation: the collection of objects resting upon a coffee table (The Ribbon) and a windowsill (The Plants) recall altars. Beyond these rooms, a pop mantra (My Father’s Mantra in My Favorite Font) undermines the solemnity of a wake (Concepción) generating tension between self–help spirituality and grief’s spectacle. Works such as The Sky Above Us and Poinsettias evoke a sense of celebration while reminding the viewer of its fleeting nature. Moreover, these images juxtaposed with portraits, attempt to create an open narrative for one to interpret.

The assembly of images places the artist in contact with the possibilities of the domestic space, the transience of celebration and the photographic moment. It indexes memory through photography as part documentation, part creative process. The work creates its own fiction allowing the viewer to question spirituality and family.