Love 'Recovey' (2024)

This mixed-media collage is a deeply personal exploration of love, memory, and recovery. It weaves together fragments of found poetry, old photographs, and materials discovered during my father’s dehoarding process after his passing in 2020.

Mixed media artwork featuring layered textures, handwritten notes, and two black-and-white photographs, all enclosed within a simple wooden frame.

A textured mixed-media artwork incorporates various materials like netting, fabric, and metal elements, creating an intricate and layered composition. The piece is set in a minimalist wooden frame, highlighting the contrast between the detailed textures and the clean, simple border.

The collage includes black-and-white photobooth pictures of my father and mother, which were tucked away in forgotten corners of his home. These images are intertwined with love poems my father wrote long after my mother’s death, offering a poignant glimpse into his emotional landscape and his enduring connection to her.

The found poetry, with its rawness and authenticity, serves as a window into my father’s journey of healing and love, even as he grappled with dyslexia, ADHD and depression. The deliberate misspelling of "recovery" in the text becomes a symbol of his struggle with language, but also a testament to the resilience that marked his life.

In the scrap metal piece, I incorporate textured elements from everyday objects, including pieces of broken appliances and discarded materials, all recycled from my father’s home. This work becomes a tribute to the life he lived, and to the memories that linger in the things we leave behind. The collage speaks not only to personal recovery but also to the collective process of healing and remembering, especially in the context of family and loss.

Both pieces reflect the theme of resilience and transformation, drawing from the remnants of my father’s life and the objects that surrounded him. They serve as a tactile, visual reminder of the layers of memory, love, and grief that shape our journeys of healing.

A textured collage of various materials, including mesh, fabric, and patterned surfaces, all unified in a monochromatic white palette, creating a layered and abstract visual effect.