The Gift of Loss: A Rhizomatic Connection Journey

Abstract

In this piece, I explore how embodied reflexivity stop moments, juxtaposed with the photographic f-stop, inform the various stages of my creative process. Through deconstruction, fragmentation, and reconstruction of my images, I work to navigate and embrace loss to reconnect with myself as artist/daughter. Through the lens of my father’s camera, I engage in a form of relational consciousness: hearing his voice guide my composition and technical approach to my images and then freeing my consciousness to create on a more visceral level using the interdisciplinary approaches that are the foundation of my art making. I detail how my process became a form of conversation through the lens as well as a rhizomatic healing journey. Throughout, I question how dominant society regulates and controls how and what we grieve, who is grieved, and I advance the idea that grief and loss should be embraced as a gift.