Post 3- HOME HERE

    One of the works that spoke to me was Jennifer Robert’s “Family Album Series”. It's hidden in a small nook in the gallery so you would have to walk around and really look for it, once you find it, you’re hit with a wave of nostalgia. The walls are surrounded by old photos of various families, couples and children captured and frozen in a special moment. These photos were posted up on three walls, all which surround a desk, with a notebook and pen. It’s an interactive piece where you can sit down with these photos and capture this warm energy that encourages you to jot down some of your own recollections from your childhood. When looking at those photos, it makes me question if I’ve ever had any of my old childhood photos abandoned? Are my photos in a bin somewhere? Did someone repurpose them somehow? All of these questions sort of kept popping up in my head. While this piece might not exactly have a connection to my art, there’s definitely similarities with the ongoing theme of recollections and nostalgia. Memory is something I cherish and hold on to - what was once a simpler time makes me want to drop everything to go back and do it again. 

    The next artwork is Tina Maneca’s “Comfort is an Action,” where you see a canopy that hangs above this bassinet with a quilted rug underneath it. Inside the bassinet are a couple of plushes: a bear, a gorilla and some miscellaneous cushions. Right next to it is a shelf that has a book placed on top, which belongs to the artist's father. Then, underneath the shelf, we see a chair that has a quilted throw placed on top of it which sits two more plushies. I love how there’s this pattern with patchwork that’s going on throughout this scene, almost as if it's carefully constructing a memory by recollecting the bits and pieces and putting them together to create this warm and soft feeling of nostalgia. Everything seems to be handmade as well, and this gives the impression that there was so much care that was put into those innocent moments. This work also doesn’t exactly have connections to my work for the same reasons as Jennifer Robert’s “Family Album Series,” but there’s definitely storytelling involved which connects to my work.