Nancy, A Girl 1790

Artist statement

My artwork explores the relationship between memory and migration using an interdisciplinary approach that includes film, printmaking, installation, and archival materials. I want to get to the root of lost memories, especially in relation to migration; whether the move is forced or initiated by a search for new opportunities, we all have a migration story in our bloodlines. I study the fragments of memory and repurpose them.

The lives of my ancestors are the catalysts behind my artwork, and their stories are woven into every detail. Why did they leave? What were they hoping to find? What remains? I want to explore every fracture, fold, and glitch to release the trauma that lives inside. I do this using a somatic approach where a focus on materiality is key, whether that is explored by making my own paper using fibers connected to ancestry or creating a glitch in a film to represent release, recovery, imminent loss of a moment in time, or even a glimpse into the future. The act of forgetting is often a mode of self-preservation to keep us moving forward and from falling apart. However, to truly move forward, it’s important to do the work to be released from the invisible chains that keep us from truly being free. 

I hope viewers find relationships in my work. Migration is something we all have in common at some point in our histories, and migrants speak a common language. Each journey is varied, but we are connected by the questions we ask ourselves in that search. Movement is a familiar thread that connects us all.