Things My Dad Taught Me
Things My Dad Taught Me was created as a way to address the complexity of grieving a parent who has died from a stigmatizing death. In 2017 my dad died from an accidental drug overdose and since then I have been visiting places that remind me of him. I go to the housing co-op where I grew up, to the swimming pool we used to go, to his old apartments, and to the last place I saw him alive. Along the way I stop to take photographs of things that resonate with me and reflect on our relationship, my childhood, and the things he taught me. Walking through my old neighbourhoods I find myself compelled to capture things that look overgrown, neglected, forgotten. But I see freedom in these things, too - a lack of inhibition that my dad embodied throughout his life.
“Empty Shoes” C-Print, 2019
“Red Flowers” C-Print, 2019
“Paw Prints” C-Print, 2019
“Vines” C-Print, 2019
“Where I Grew Up” C-Print, 2019
“Broken” C-Print, 2019
Installation View | City of Vancouver Platforms 2020, Vancouver, 2020
Installation View | Wall to Wall, Winnipeg, 2020