The Act of Passing Down

Dear Viewer,

I am interested in the act of passing down.

My family and my faith are inextricably linked to my identity, and both are rooted in tradition and relationship. My work is a reflection on this passing down, and how it has shaped and continues to shape who I am. By comparing the lives of my parents and their siblings to my own and to those of the children in my family, I have discovered just how much each generation reflects the others. By watching my cousins growing up, I relive memories which I had almost forgotten.

Memories like these are also triggered by the senses. Certain smells, tastes, textures or actions can bring us into the past in a very real way:

the smell of cinnamon,

the feel of a blanket,

the taste of a dum dum,

the rocking of a chair.

Though strong, these memories are still fluid and loose, more of a feeling than a snapshot. This elusiveness has become part of the work. The loose brushstrokes, the wispiness of the wool, the scraps of fabric, they all speak to memory:

what we remember,

what we cling to

and what gets left behind.

These memories are ingrained in the objects that have been passed down:

the scratch marks in the wood of the chair,

the stains in the curtains,

the cracks in the frames,

the worn beads of a rosary.

All of these objects have lived through my family’s generations and watched as we played, prayed, and learned from each other.

They watched as we passed down traditions, crafts, and recipes.

They watched as we shared meals,

shared stories,