Lost Son

Lost Son is part of a larger body of work entitled Blurred. It is inspired by the 5-part poem Lost Son by Theodore Roethke and based on my own complicated relationship with my distant son.

Lost Son is an exploration of grief and emotional turmoil, structured into five distinct sections. Through this journey, the project articulates a deep struggle with loss inviting personal contemplation of one's own experiences of grief and renewal.

The series begins by setting a tone of sorrow following the metaphorical death of the son's father with the former seeking solace in nature to no avail. This part touches upon the complicated relationship between a distant father and son with geographical distance exacerbating existing issues and making resolution more difficult.

As the son grapples with his grief, the second part of this series highlights the dangers of delving into the unconscious. The son goes through a period of physical and psychic exhaustion and other obsessions begin to appear in his mind presenting a stark reminder of mortality.

In the third section, the son's wandering mind struggles to find meaning amid despair. His obsessions begin to take hold. He goes through frenetic activity, then lapses back into almost a crooning serenity.

In the fourth section, the son experiences a glimpse of hope as he recalls childhood memories with his father. Thus, suggesting some kind of restoration of order and clarity after the agitation and exhaustion of the earlier actions.

A sense of acceptance and the cyclical nature of life characterizes the last section. It emphasizes that while understanding may be out of reach, peace and joy can eventually return.