Chapter 11: The Transmutation of Memory
I began this chapter on the Día de Muertos (Day of the Dead) celebration in Oaxaca, Mexico. On this day, it is believed that the veil between the living and the dead is at its thinnest. Respects are paid to departed family, friends, and ancestors with offerings of flowers by candlelight. It was on this night that I chose to remember my beloved brother, Gary. Photographed and embraced in a balm of flowers, the work symbolizes the healing of bad memories in order to bring about their transformation to another, more positive form.
The project ends with imagery of the cherry blossom, a symbol of life, death, and renewal. As is the nature of all life, the petals appear with glory for a short time, and subsequently fall to the ground in death. The cherry blossom was a symbol of the Kamikaze -- young men sent to a desperate, futile, and sacrificial death. The samurai of feudal Japan, living by a strict moral code of honor, simultaneously realized the inevitability of death and released all fear of it. Their lives, marked by battle and conflict, were often cut short, and the fallen cherry blossom became the symbol of that short life.
With this work, I employ the temporal beauty of flowers in remembrance of veterans of all wars and the innocent civilians, the world over, who suffer the consequences. I seek to inspire resilience and courage, and to inspire that our only alternative is a peaceful coexistence.