pathways to connection, a practice
Project details
- Year
- 2024
- Programme
- Bachelor – Illustration
- Practices
- Social Practices
- Minor
- Cultural Diversity
In pathways to connection Zena-Rae explores ways to deepen her connection with her late mother. How can we spend time with someone who is no longer physically here?
Her practice manifests through different media – painting, writing, drawing, practicing tai chi, looking though archives and editing. A story is told through three parts: a series of paintings titled water dance, a publication including her thesis titled pathways to connection, a practice and a short documentary film titled emptying closets, keeping memories. The work is honest and personal, exuding both loss and abundance. Parallels are drawn and connections are revealed between here and there, then and now.
This is not only for those who have experencied grief, but also for those interested in slowing down and embracing both the joys and sorrows of life.
image from the grad show by Mika Dalderop
trailer of my film: https://youtu.be/s9UGMJ2EDvM?si=g5SE9w0vDRHqI8qH
my phone rang. which is something i would normally never allow to happen at four in the morning. but it did on that tuesday, and it was four in the morning and i did not need to pick it up to know what would be said at the other end of the line.
my friend, who slept next to me in my parents’ bed, woke as well. we said, nothing. and got out of bed and biked to the hospital. the street lanterns exuded a light which cast a sepia tone over all that it touched, robbing it of its colour. i remember the long hospital corridor, dimly lit with yellow lighting. the coloured lines on the linoleum flooring leading me to her department, and my sister kia at the end of the hallway. there we stood, in a seemingly deserted hospital. too far away to see each others facial expressions, there was no need to.
we approached each other, embraced, cried.
excerpt from
pathways to connection, a practice
written by Zena-Rae
if you want to buy a copy of my publication email me studiozenarae@gmail.com 🙂
to find out more visit my website zenarae.com