Nostalgia
Artist Statement
While reading about the etymology of nostalgia, I learned that it comes from the Greek words nostos and algos, meaning ‘return home’ and ‘ache’. This was combined with heimweh, the German word for homesickness, to create the modern word of nostalgia in the late 18th century.
The photograph I chose to work with throughout this process exemplifies the idea of acute homesickness that is nostalgia for me, and I wanted to explore the ways in which I could push the memory. I selected it specifically because it is a self-portrait taken in a mirror, so the image is a reflection of us, not our physical forms.
Throughout the creative process, I aimed to deteriorate the image further as I further question its physicality and temporality. Each process aims to morph the idea of the memory further, making it almost unrecognizable compared to the previous. I wanted to create a mixture between restorative and reflective nostalgia, the wish to return to the past and the ability to critically examine it from the present.
Thank you for viewing!
