Playing Dead, Worn

The Worn series emerges from my ongoing, interdisciplinary, creative investigation of death, mourning, and sorrow through my sustained reflection on the way the body leaves traces of itself. A tribute to my sister, who died unexpectedly in 2018, the images question our desire to hold on to each other, and reconstitute ourselves through remnant traces, in the absence of loved ones.

There are also two video pieces in which I enact a slow, semi-controlled choreography with my deceased sister’s clothing. The pieces start with me completely ensconced in my sister’s clothing – shirts, pants, blankets, gloves, etc.… their original function has been removed – they are not worn as they are typically worn – rather they have swallowed me whole. As the video progresses, I slowly, tenderly, meditatively remove each garment, one at a time, progressively revealing myself, stripping away the clothing which act as metaphoric layers of mourning.