At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic began I culled my lived experiences for ways to connect to strangers. Practicing social distancing, my part time jobs shuttered or cancelled, sheltering in place, and the necessity of confronting financial precariousness provoked me into active reminiscing, and reflecting on the places I have lived and how each place affected my sense of stability. Perhaps I was simply missing places and people more acutely while I did not have access to them. Although I certainly wished to see family and friends in person again, phone and video calls allowed me to connect with them meaningfully. What I realized was strikingly absent, was the opportunity for me to be a stranger to someone. My effort to recover (or replenish?) these encounters is called Current Occupant. The project began with hand drawing my memory of each residence I have lived in. This image and a letter was then sent to the current occupant of each address, a complete stranger to me. The endeavor is an offering,  an autobiography, a memory palace, and an ode to that which exists only in memories.

Each original drawing is 6 x 8 inches, ink on bristol.

A handmade artists book of this project is available here.

Click on each image to read more about each residence.

Current Occupant was featured on the 11/25/20 episode of Nancy’s Bookshelf. Follow this link to listen to Nancy interview me about the project on NSPR.