I decided to dedicate this project to my Nana (great-grandmother) Grace Holman. She lived 95 amazing years and I spoke to her for the last time before she was called home on April 5th. I titled this work Resurrection after death for many reasons as it reflects on the loss of my nana, my spirituality, and Native American Heritage. To make these things real I depicted my emotions, identity and spirituality masked behind very vivid and intense imagery.
My nana was a full-blooded Wampanoag woman who shared her culture with my family and made it known that we should be prideful in who we are. Many people look at me and don’t see this part of my identity despite its great influence on who I am today. I wanted to make this real and visible in these images. Spirituality and connection with the land is a major value within my culture. Although I identify as a Christian, I turn to nature to connect with my ancestors. In nature is where I feel most grounded and connected with them and now her.
As I mourn my great-grandmother’s death, I am also forced to think about my Christian identity as this week is the holy week; marking Jesus’ death and resurrection.
During this time, resurrection after death symbolizes the light at the end of the tunnel. It reminds me that even after great loss, blessings are born. For me, this project has revealed to me the merging of the visible and invisible with spirituality. I have comfort in knowing that my grandmother is always with me and I will one day be with her again. I have hope that this is the fire, but from the ashes, something beautiful will be revealed. I will grow from this and carry on her legacy.
I am so sorry to hear about the passing of your great-grandmother. I love the story your photographs tell and how empowering this story is. You did a phenomenal job at conveying emotions through each photograph and love your use of props. The photographs of the fire are the most powerful to me because at the beginning the fire and the flower are separate but it almost feels like the flower is approaching the fire (or the fire is approaching the flower) and then you take photographs that show the process of the flower burning in the fire. But the series ends with an extinguished fire with an intact flower on top. I love this contrast between something burning but once the fire subsides, it remains present.
Hey Destiny, your photos hold a lot of power and as you progress you can see the story about your loss but also what you gained in the end. I think the use of the flower carries this message and to see it being burned to a flower remaining has that message. I think the way you play with light is interesting as well, specifically the way that you use the fabric to soften it and the way you make it the focal point in your last photo draws the eye to it. I especially enjoy the light in the second photo, it makes the picture feel very soft and almost ethereal. The fabric provides movement in your photos with all of the creases which make the eye wander.
Hey Des! I loved the story you were able to convey in every photo. It may be challenging to be creative, going through what you’re experiencing. Still, art has always been utilized as an outlet for expressing, and I think you conveyed your feelings of loss and the hope that can arise from that successfully. Thank you for letting us into your experience. Juxtaposing the white flower (and the connotations that come with it like, purity and rebirth) against fire (and the implications that come with that like, death and destruction) was very mutualistic. Both entities seem to pull against each other because of their opposing meanings, while simultaneously coming together to express your message.
Hi Destiny,
I love you photos and I think they really capture your connection with your grandmother and your experience of her death and rebirth within you. Thank you for sharing it with us. As a whole, I love have all of your photos work together, but I want to highlight a few in particular. After reading your description of your project, the first photo especially stood out to me. The light of the sun coming through the veil creates the shape of a cross. This image with the sun-cross and the hand reaching forward captures the essence of how nature and spirituality are intertwined, regardless of the type of religion. There is a universality of nature that transcends any definitions or divisions created by different identities as well as creating a space in which the living and the dead are not separated, but can become connected. It is truly a beautiful photo. I also want to comment on your sixth photo. What I see in this photo, and what your entire project captures, is the flower immersed in the flames. But in this photo in particular, the flower does not look like it is burning or being destroyed, but instead that it is transforming and maintaining it fundamental character. It is changing into something new. The flower here has this amber color, its petals more curled back, and I think in some ways we can see it in a way where it looks even more beautiful than before.