Click here to view a virtual tour of my exhibition from December 2020-January 2021 in whitespec gallery at whitespace.
The Secret Garden exhibition, much like the novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett, whimsically traverses themes of self-discovery and regeneration of life through the exploration of family history. As I have wandered throughout my life, I have always been referred to as a flower blossoming in various stages. A recent farewell to my grandmother unearthed questions and childlike curiosities about the unique lives of my ancestors. After inheriting a collection of 35mm color slides of photographs of flowers in gardens that my great-grandfather took in his retirement, I finally began to feel a sense of belonging to my ancestral roots.
The Secret Garden weaves together imagery of flowers with notes and letters written by my ancestors to create subtle textural collages. Silkscreened prints on paper and fabric are layered on top of monotype color fields and gradients with fraying edges to create a new narrative from my ancestor’s fragmented storylines. My fascination with untangling the unique personalities and sensibilities of my ancestors reveals itself in the form of a secret garden where tactile identities and fragrant memories of the past are reborn and can once again flourish.