Fractals

So much was changing and had already changed. I learned that the tree I once used to build fairy houses had become sick and needed to be cut down. In the grand scheme of everything that was happening in the world, this may not seem too devastating, but I loved that tree and its loss further symbolized the loss of my childhood. I felt my connection to my younger self and the backyard space I had once inhabited growing even more tenuous. I didn’t feel at home there anymore, I felt lonely and adrift without the community I had grown to love at Smith, and I felt sad for all the birds, insects, fungi, and even fairies who I imagined were feeling like they had lost their homes, too. I created the photo collage “Fractals” (2020) in honor of this tree and the magic I imagined it to hold, and to reflect on the way our relationships with places and ourselves change over time, and how our minds and memories can only bring back so much of the past. The lighting and layering effects in the images were created using several pieces of modified mirrors and glass, and no digital filters were added. All that remained were echoes of the magical past where I had once felt so at home.