Timeless My exploration with digital media is one method I use to portray feelings of grief. Searching through photographs and videos of my family, taking those images, tracing over, and transforming them is a way for me to process family loss. It allows me to continue remembering family members I have lost while expressing the difficulties of such events. Through the use of animation and zines, this body of work exemplifies the power of storytelling to bring the past to life and to bring forward the importance of remembering.
The practice of collecting printed or digital images of the past is like an archive that allows me to develop a story. In “Timeless”, I used old printed images of my family when my siblings and I were much younger at my grandparent’s house in Sarnia, Ontario. As the story progresses, the time stamps, digital renderings of old photographs and digital drawings with missing elements allow the presence of time to become more fragmented.
The intentional pauses between the figure and object drawings are meant to play into the looming nature of time. For example, experiencing the death of a loved one (to me, at least) feels like time stands still. To draw attention to the presence of time, I created an animation of my grandpa’s 150-year-old pocket watch. I created an animation of the clock accompanied by sound where I wanted to draw parallels between the story and the animation, bringing the looming presence of time to life.
Il Mondo My exploration with digital media is one method I use to portray feelings of grief. Searching through photographs and videos of my family, taking those images, tracing over, and transforming them is a way for me to process family loss. It allows me to continue remembering family members I have lost while expressing the difficulties of such events. Through the use of animation and zines, this body of work exemplifies the power of storytelling to bring the past to life and to bring forward the importance of remembering.
“Il Mondo” is deeply inspired by my Nonna and Nonno’s relationship. My Nonno passed away about eight years ago, and my Nonna continues to share stories of their life together, his youth, his career as a singer, and the enduring love they shared. One of my favourite stories is how they first met. Before immigrating to Canada in the 1960s, they lived in Sicily, where she describes their relationship as a love reminiscent of Romeo and Juliet.
For this work, I used digital photographs from their 50th wedding anniversary; the last major family celebration of their love. I wanted to take a more reflective approach, exploring themes of acceptance and loss. In my digital drawings, I incorporated colour using a basic colour theory approach, combining red and blue to create a muted purple tone. This choice symbolizes the emotional and relational interconnectedness between my Nonni.
It was important for me to include elements of my Italian heritage. I incorporated piano sheet music from one of my favourite Italian songs, “Il Mondo” by Jimmy Fontana. The song speaks to an overwhelming love that persists even as the world continues moving forward. It reflects longing, memory, and the feeling of being emotionally suspended in time when separated from someone deeply loved.