Relate
I am fascinated with relationships. I am exploring this in a couple of ways. In one, I am looking at old family photos and focusing on pictures of people together. Observing how my mother was with her brother when they were little and comparing it to my brother and myself. In the process I am learning family history in a way that no one talks about it. I am also able to find and map patterns. While conducting this project I am also paying attention to how I organize the photos. The way in which I organize the photos will be a direct reflection of my thought process and as a result act as a self-portrait. In other words, the organizing the photos is the art.
In addition to uncovering my family’s portrait I also have a personal communications quest. I want to learn to communicate better. I want real honest relationships with people. The relationships where people always know where you stand. Where you can tell someone, “No, I can’t hang out today, I’m just too tired,” and it is completely cool because the relationship is comfortable. A way to eliminate unnecessary drama that naturally happens when people can’t communicate. It is so easy to talk without saying anything. There are so many things that go unsaid because people have forgotten how to translate. I am keeping track of certain interactions with other people and also watching the way others interact. I documenting this in audio and written text. The communication itself is the art and my friends are the collaborators.
Eventually the photographs and the text may combine to create specific narratives.
