To Build A Home

Concept
Grief, particularly the loss of a loved one, often transforms memory into something both intimate and painful. In the period following such a loss, memories—whether joyful or difficult—can take on a distinct emotional weight. In this work, that emotional experience is represented through the idea of memories “turning blue.” The colour blue becomes a metaphor for the ache that accompanies remembrance: every recollection carries a sense of distance and longing for someone who is no longer present.

This artwork explores the emotional distance created by loss. The central two-dimensional work is a self-portrait that engages with this process of remembering. Through the act of repeatedly drawing and reworking the image, the artist confronts these “blue” memories directly. Drawing becomes both a reflective and restorative gesture. By physically reconstructing the image through line and repetition, the process offers a way of working through grief, gradually transforming painful recollections into memories that can once again be held with warmth.

The artwork is titled “To Build a Home,” inspired by the song written by Jason Angus Stoddart Swinscoe, Patrick Watson, Philip Jonathan France, and Stella Page. The title reflects the emotional foundation of the memories explored in the work. As the loss depicted here relates to the passing of a parent, the memories originate from a place of love, safety, and belonging—the emotional sense of “home” that a parent can provide.

Accompanying the two-dimensional work, there is a three-dimensional object that functions as a diary of the drawing process. These objects document and extend the act performed in the 2D artwork, materialising the ongoing practice of drawing as a form of reflection and emotional processing. Together, the 2D and 3D elements form a dialogue between memory, loss, and reconstruction, illustrating how creative practice can become a method of navigating grief and rebuilding one’s relationship with the past.