Held in Passing

Held in Passing explores the histories of women often rendered invisible, starting with my grandmother, Nancy Rollins Harris, whose life of constant movement raises questions about how place shapes identity and memory. Each piece is constructed using real and imagined places, layered to reflect her journey. I use watercolor, gouache, acrylic, and cyanotype to paint these scenes, then I expose the cyanotype and rinse it. This process simultaneously darkens the cyanotype, while washing away some of the water media, referencing the duality of memory. Repairs are made, some visible, some invisible. Combining images from personal exploration of places that she experienced, I construct a reality that is closer to the truth than life itself.