Homecoming Series

In Homecoming, I use the house as a metaphor for the self, serving as both shelter and prison. Our understanding of home shifts over a lifetime, culminating in a final homecoming as we confront mortality.

The series began after my neighbor's house burned down. Watching the fire with my son, then living with its charred remains outside my kitchen window, transformed my perception of home. Treasured possessions became scattered debris. After the family had mourned their loss, I asked permission to collect the burned wood. Unlike the controlled charring of Japanese Yakisugi, this wood had been consumed by extreme heat, leaving it fragile and unpredictable.

Using these remnants, I explore the tension between strength and vulnerability. The charred wood embodies the ways home and identity are reshaped by loss and experience. I wove in "hard threads" from Springs Industries, honoring my family's textile roots in South Carolina. As the works accumulated on my studio wall, they began to speak to one another, evolving into the installation.