Collage and Mixed Media

I Wish You Had Said

The words in each of the collages are pulled from letters that my parents wrote and sent after I cut contact in 2019. Though I have remained no-contact with most of the family, they have continued to attempt to reach out infrequently. I have not made any move to reply and don’t plan to in the foreseeable future. I am in the process of creating a series in which I rearrange and reconfigure the words of these unwanted messages and letters in an attempt to heal from their unfortunate realities.

The collaged messages reflect an ideal that will likely never be realized. This way, I’m no longer carrying the weight of the words on my shoulders. The words can live on in these collages, even if they are out of their intended order. It’s a way of making peace with reality and acknowledging what would have made a difference.