LONGING FOR HOME

Personal project (2020)

The longing for home and a place where one feels safe, happy, and like they belong is universal. In longing for a home of my own throughout 2020, I searched for elements and created spaces in temporary dwellings that gave me a feeling of grounding.

I moved to the Asheville area of North Carolina in November 2019, a few months before the pandemic hit the United States. My plan was to temporarily stay with friends until I found a place of my own. I had only a little bit of time to get to know my new environment before everything changed.

For me, the collective uncertainty of life under COVID-19 was underscored by the personal uncertainty of having a stable place to live. For a multitude of reasons, I lived in several temporary homes, staying with friends, my partner’s family, and a short-term rental until finally signing a lease almost a year after moving to the area.

This project encapsulates that time of perpetual limbo as I built and deepened relationships with new housemates, explored my new surroundings, and celebrated little moments and daily joys. I found that the novelty of these places and a spirit of curiosity eased some of the darkness around the pandemic. In the midst of so much ambiguity, I strived to find the moments of light, levity, and peace.