Victoria is about relationships and redemption; love and respect. It tells the story of how I built a relationship with my grandmother, years after she passed away, through the process of going through her belongings. Before, I knew her as “Grandma”—a sweet, five-foot-tall, white-haired lady who would make me buttered noodles and tell me stories about her childhood in Firenze. All I had were grainy memories playing through the lens of an eight-year-old’s perspective. Now, I know her by her given name, Victoria, a strong matriarch who loved her family, her recipes, and her Virginia Slims.
With Victoria, I treat relationships as complex living organisms that can grow and evolve even in the absence of another. My grandmother collected the treasures I examined for this project over the course of her life, and they became a part of her identity. Now, they provide a glimpse into who Victoria was and what she held dear. So today, I do not mourn that her departure meant we could never know each other as adults; I celebrate that her relics gave me an opportunity to enrich our relationship on my own.

Fly Tape and Moth Balls is about my personal experience of going through my grandmothers things after she passed away. I did not know her very well when she was living, but as I unearth her belongings the memories come pouring in. Some memories are just mere snippets that don't make much sense, whereas some items conjure up the memory of a whole day I spent with her. As I go through her belongings, and her now quiet home, I realize that although I did not get to know her well when she was living, I am able to get to know her through what she left behind. All of the items in this series has significance because she touched them and interacted with them on a regular basis. I did not get this luxury, but as I sit in the space and explore what she once held valuable, I am able to learn a little bit about her, even in her absence. My wish is that this series will allow others to realize that even though someone may no longer be with them, they can still rediscover and meet them again in a different way. I often times feel as if I missed out on my grandmother and the relationship we could have had, but, I have used the many relics she left behind as a way to rekindle a relationship that never was.

‘Forgotten Sea’ is a story about transformation. This photographic journey takes place in the Colorado Desert in southern California. This long forgotten place, the Salton Sea, was a booming desert oasis in the 1950’s and 60’s. However, due to agricultural runoff and no fresh water source, this inland sea has transformed into what can only be described as a post- apocalyptic wasteland. This series explores the scars that overuse and abandonment have had on this place. There are visions of hope still scattered along the shoreline, but empty parking lots and murky water dominate the atmosphere. The Salton Sea is slowly dying, and what is left in its wake is a thick layer of crunchy salt.