Memorial

When this project was first assigned, I couldn’t think of anywhere in my house, room or car where a memorial of some sort was set up for display. Well over the weekend my five year old cousin passed away from brain cancer after a yearlong battle. The point is when I arrived home I immediately put his mass card above my bed on a shelf where others already rest. Without noticing, I have had a alter set up for years now.

It first began when my best friend passed away from leukemia in 2006. I put pictures of us above the shelf and contents that reminded me of him on the shelf. For example when we were younger we used to paint action figurines and go to the zoo, so there is also an alligator head, which are now part of the alter memorial. I also have a wooden statue from St. Francais of Assisi from my grandparents’ house along with both of their mass cards. Having this shelf gives me comfort and lets me know they’re at my side every night when I go to sleep. Also when I am feeling a little down or missing them I'll go to the shelf and memories will rush back to me. These memories make me feel better and forget about the bad. It’s crazy how I could forget about something that is so present in my life. I just never called it an alter or memorial and I feel that is why I didn’t put two and two together.

As for being art, I wouldn’t consider this art or myself an artist from this memorial. It didn’t take any type of skill or imagination. I just put contents that are important to me into one particular area to honor their lives and for memories.