Advocacy

Artist Statement:

This photo essay features my baby shoes, worn almost 32 years ago. Looking at them & photographing them naturally makes one think into the past & into the future. It has been almost 8 years since my wife & I started our infertility journey. At first, the infertility journey made me feel left behind, it had thrown my wife & I off course like we were wandering two seperate paths, and not together. It took years to get our bearings, find that common path again and turn that narrative upside down. We often find ourselves reflecting on how short life is, especially when unexpected events occur, which has pushed us to live genuinely & authentically. Ironically, now I feel as though we have left others behind; we can only hope to serve as role models who embody how precious life is.

This piece is a play on a traditional baby mobile, featuring my baby shoes worn almost 32 years ago. This piece has been in conception in my mind & via sketch for over a year, and has gone through many iterations until I found it to represent my feelings correctly. Usually, I am not a procrastinator at all so it made me think, “Why I have taken so long to create this piece?” In fact, why has it taken me so long to contribute something tangible to the art project? Sure, I have done audio & writing pieces, but this one felt different. It felt very tangible, raw and provoking of feelings past. Finally, though, I felt that I was in a good place to finish the piece, maybe because I could see a path forward….instead of the Whirlwind that this infertility journey has been for the past 8 years. This journey for many years made me feel bottled up, and not my usual honest self. I think because I was uncomfortable with the situation, mainly due to society’s interpretation and lack of understanding. I have always been a confident person, but this one really got down to my core. My wife & I were raised catholic and were instilled with a sense of how easy family building would be. We have grown immensely in these 8 years, to the point where we can comfortably say this was one of the best things that has happened to us. It has allowed to be become adaptable, genuine, authentic and embrace the whirlwind that life is. While were in Japan, we learned of a phrase called “Wabi Sabi”; or beauty in decay, simplicity & silence. It is not about what is thrown at you in life, but how you choose to handle it. You can let the whirlwind take over, or you can embrace it.