The Scattering (Strandlines) continues my exploration of my collection of very damaged family photos. It combines multiple streams of interest - the landscape, identity, the ambiguous notion of home, migration and loss and the photograph as object and mnemonic device. During a trip to visit my mother in Barbados, my mother gave me (or threatened to throw them out) several shoeboxes of our heavily damaged family photos primarily from the 1980s of family, friends, familiar landscapes and homes. Damaged from the tropical humidity and the poor quality of cheap one-hour printing, the images had become mildewed and stuck together. As a migrant who has now been living in Toronto longer than anywhere else, the notion of home has become an ambiguous one. To stay connected to the land I grew up in and remember people from my past, a number of whom are no longer alive, I rely on visits to see my mother and friends in Barbados and on memories. The loss of photos from the place I grew up in felt significant. It highlighted how memories are volatile and vague yet also help define our principles, shape our lives and construct our identities. These damaged photos represent slips and gaps in my memory.
This artwork was generously supported by an Ontario Arts Council Visual Artists Creation Project grant.
Installation at Gibraltar Point Centre for the Arts, 2026
