Tray

35 years to go

I want to erase these barriers that separate us

His time, mine

Distance, space, prison walls

I am in Peoria, his hometown. As I am getting closer to him and his memories I have the feeling of moving away. 

A nostalgia emanates from these empty landscapes where he no longer appears, space and time become blurry. 

My presence here resonates through his absence. His body disappears, gradually finding its marks in a timeless enclave.

Together, we are creating a utopian place beyond isolation.

This is a book I made last year during my last year at ECAL (university of art and design) in Lausanne. I finished my bachelor with this project and am happy to say it got a mention.

This is a project I did with Tray, a 26 years old inmate incarcerated in the state of Illinois, USA. We have been sending each other letter for over a year and I have decided to meet him, and his family. I retrace his steps in his childhood and we're getting closer.

With this book of 150 pages, we are questioning time, distance and social causes. Between romance and violence, we are creating a space out of time.

This project was selected and shortlisted during the Unseen book market in Amsterdam this year.