Outlier

In my in-progress series, "Outlier", I turn the lens on my military heritage, exploring my complex emotions towards my father's military service and the meaning of duty and service in relation to one’s country and one’s family.

I am the daughter and granddaughter of Navy pilots. At age 7, my father left for nine months to serve on an aircraft carrier and as a teenager, he left again for nearly two years to serve in Desert Storm. I distinctly remember in both instances his absence and the infrequent phone calls from ports and bases on the other side of the world. As the first grandchild, I broke with this long standing military tradition in my family and chose to create a different life for myself and my children, one in which I would remain home and be present in their lives.

I intend to reconstruct my personal experiences by exploring my father's military service through the juxtaposition of his military timeline with my own childhood, our physical proximity and distance to one another, along with reimagining personal artifacts.

Lastly, I will create a socially engaged component by interviewing children and young adults whose parents are currently serving in the military and record the positive and negative impact this has had on their lives. These interviews will serve to better inform the installation as well as become a stand-alone video and audio piece.