Developing My Archive: on being

Abstract

My current visual research examines personal experiences surrounding homesickness and nostalgia. For most of history, nostalgia and homesickness have been linked together even though they differ. Nostalgia is a longing for a time, while homesickness is a longing for a place. Where we come from is an integral part of our being, but what we become nostalgic for also shapes what we become. My work explores the idea of photographs existing as a substitution for memory and how photographic manipulation can change how we remember events. Photography lets me explore and recontextualize my exalted memory surrounding my transition from South Dakota to North Carolina. This method allows me to reclaim control over what I want to remember. Centering imagery around home and routine allows viewers to connect openly to various physical and emotional landscapes. Viewers are encouraged to participate in the transfer and re-constructions of these personal memories. My work challenges us to focus on and appreciate small moments we are surrounded by and how they shape our outward attitudes and understandings of what we consider home.