Nothing lasts. Everything is here, and I am reverent.
These photographs express devotion to family and mentors. The work also expresses the truth of impermanence, and the Buddhist principle of inter-being—the interconnectedness of all existence.
Silhouettes of my siblings and myself appear as constellations among tree branches, referencing devotional diptychs carried by spiritual pilgrims in both Christian and Buddhist traditions. My self-portrait as a shadow looms over landscapes, while dark trees - more silhouettes - create cascading river or vein-like patterns suggesting infinite continuation in all directions.
Star photography pervades the work as a motif, transforming ordinary scenes into expressions of wonder and reverence—from the portrait of my mentor Ali holding a conch shell (a symbol of the propagation of the Buddha’s teachings) to the ethereal image of Mt. Hood where I was married, a holy place for me.
The compound photographs—semi-transparent halftone images on plexiglass of mentors and home altar pieces—extend this devotional practice into three dimensions, while remaining strictly photographic.
Finally, audio recordings going back to 2016 bring the figures of my grandmother and Ali Lufkin to life through their own voices.
This work stands as a marker in time—an exploration of reverence and impermanence, acknowledging that while nothing lasts forever, everything continues in relationship to everything else.
