"If you don't believe in ghosts, you've never been to a family reunion."
-Ashleigh Brilliant
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| Bug Collection. Acrylic on Masonite 19x22" |
After some experimentation with the memories of strangers, for my final few pieces in this body of work, I've decided to return to more familiar things. In the midst of all the paranormal excitement I found in the antique photos from the market near Sant Ambrogio, it completely slipped my mind that during my stay in Ireland, I was given a few antique photos of my own family.
In the small stack of black and whites my father's sister gave me was an image I had never seen before this reunion; my father as a boy. His past has always been something of a mystery for us growing up, or maybe the little stories never trickled down the sibling ladder to reach me at the bottom. Either way, any childhood story about the man has always been a new one for me.
I suppose the photo I was given gave me the opportunity to explore my perception of his experiences in a new way. Many of the conversations I've had with my father have been about his or another's journey into sobriety. This part of him is one of the only parts I know well. He has devoted most of his life to helping himself and others through the metamorphic change required to give up a substance, which is why I think he has such an affection for butterflies.
In the small stack of black and whites my father's sister gave me was an image I had never seen before this reunion; my father as a boy. His past has always been something of a mystery for us growing up, or maybe the little stories never trickled down the sibling ladder to reach me at the bottom. Either way, any childhood story about the man has always been a new one for me.
I suppose the photo I was given gave me the opportunity to explore my perception of his experiences in a new way. Many of the conversations I've had with my father have been about his or another's journey into sobriety. This part of him is one of the only parts I know well. He has devoted most of his life to helping himself and others through the metamorphic change required to give up a substance, which is why I think he has such an affection for butterflies.
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