Mixed media
Artist’s collection (not for sale)
Artist Statement
I am in a 6-year relationship where I started my long-distance relationship 3 years ago. Since the pandemic started, I haven’t seen my partner for 1 year and 9 months.
From February 2020, the first month of not seeing him, I started to sketch various portraits of my partner from memory. With every single month I do not see him, I sketch one portrait a month, experimenting with different art styles and methods of remembering. There are 21 portraits altogether.
As the months go by, I start to forget little things about my partner –his height, his dimples, his shoulders and the curls in his hair. As my memory wavers, each portrait transforms from detailed features to the vague shape of a memory. I recreated a new person in each portrait, some don’t even look or feel like him. This art project and portraits are a memory exercise for me throughout the difficult time. With every stroke, I try to keep his quirks and my memory of his physical features alive with me while we are apart.
I recently went back to see him again in November 2021, which is where this memory exercise ends. The most difficult part of the pandemic for me is not being able to see my loved ones, and forgetting little details about them and being with them.
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