I Will Always Love You

I Will Always Love You is a project that examines the process of moving away from my hometown, the heaviness of attachment, and viewing oneself as a collage of cherished memories. In December 2023, I moved out of my parents house in Niagara Falls to live in Toronto, a process that left me hopeful for the future and sentimental for the moments of the past. These six mixed media fabric works capture the love I have for my life in Niagara, as well as the guilt that comes along with leaving and starting something new. While moving to Toronto didn’t mean I was gone forever, I knew it meant a chapter in my life had closed, and working on this project has allowed me to grapple with the inevitability of personal growth.

Each work has been adorned with image transfers of photos we’ve taken over the years, depicting friends, family, locations we’ve spent time together, and objects we’ve grown attached to through our bonds. In this way, I Will Always Love You makes up a tapestry of the life that I came to love and have since left behind. Alongside these image transfers are drawings from my life that I have been experiencing since I moved, the beautiful connections I’ve both made and maintained. Hanging in the Plate Glass Gallery, these works can be experienced in the round, with the sunlight allowing the marks to bleed through the thin fabric. As the sunlight fades each day, the fabric becomes opaque again, representing the impermanence of our dearest experiences. The photographic quality of the image transfers are contrasted with the loose gestural quality of my mark making, representing these people and places with multiple perspectives, creating a visualization of the abstract nature of memories and how they present themselves to
us.

I am honored to show this work here at NAC, a place I have loved spending time, and a place that my friends and family have supported me previously. St Paul Street is where I spent some of my most formative years, so it means a lot to still have a place here. I am made up of every place I’ve been, every object I’ve held onto, and every person I’ve ever loved. I will never forget you, and I will always love you.