Angela Silva

I use self-guided questions when I develop my works that include extensive research.

I found photos, documents and letters to match the dates when my mother's passports were issued then cancelled. It was a structure suitable for a timeline. I curated the collection for the ones that would enhance the narrative of her life.

There were milestones that I highlighted with selective layering and book structures.

At times, I felt like an archeologist diving into an ocean of memories, stories, letters and photographs, holding my breath and wondering what I would find.

Sometimes, I swam up for air in tears.

HEAD – CONCEPT, RESEARCH & MEANING

• during the pandemic, a genealogy hunt through memorabilia
• Elena at age 18 through 70 in black & white passport and ID photos
• finding a nuanced and personal story while examining texts and dates in the passports
  • Notion of identity: colonialism? citizenship? nationalism?
  • Identities: daughter, mother, wife, lover, alcoholic
  • The personal story of a female traveler through several decades

HEART – COMMUNICATION – FEELINGS AND EMOTIONS

• nostalgia and musings on different situations: Elena's, Angela's
• of a time and place: 1930’s through 1990’s
• recalled narratives using Elena's own words and letters
• expressive, poignant, frustrating, angry, sad, resignation, acceptance

HAND – PROCESS & TECHNIQUES

• structures for mysteries and questions
• reveal/conceal
• zoom in for details
• overlay texts and images