LARCHWOOD

For Vera, Tracye, Thomas, Hilda, Michael, and Jerome.

I am because of you.

Larchwood takes place in a space where time doesn't exist as we know it. Memories manifest themselves and play in an infinite loop... The people and feelings that generated - and were generated by - these happenings, thus, live forever.

This anthology is rooted in Black memory. The inheritance of worldly, emotional, and intellectual possessions have shaped my life. Familiar scenes from a Black childhood have become ritual, home decor turned into shrine worthy altars of the everyday... Nostalgia serves as a spiritual connection to another plane of existence.

The household, and the walls that contain it, have produced and protected my sense of self. Larchwood is a portrait of my home, and by extension – a portrait of myself. These images are the backdrop of my childhood and the roots of my existence in the present. The series is an acknowledgment and a profession of gratitude to the hands that raised and continue to raise me, reflecting all that was poured into me by generations of strength fuelled by the will to survive.