The pieces that make us whole
We are made up of everything and everyone that we know.
We are fragmented.
We are fluid.
And oftentimes, “it is a struggle to stay whole.”
Everyday, we meet or know something that changes a part of us. From a genuine smile from a stranger to losing a family member during the pandemic, all of these things contribute to who you are. You are appreciative because you know what it is like to lose someone before you can say good-bye. You are funny because that is how you deal with pain. You are kind because you know how much something as small as a smile can brighten someone’s day.
In Nathaniel Mary Quinn’s “Mend,” Quinn mended together different body parts from different artworks and combined it into one. The mouth comes from a cartoon and the eyes from a black and white photograph.
Like it is in “Mend,” you are a mix of the different parts from all the things and people you meet. Your memories. Your experiences. Your ideas. Your culture.
All of these things mend together to make up you.
They don’t all fit perfectly like pieces in a puzzle but rather, more like atoms in a liquid. Constantly changing. Definite volume but no fixed shape.
Although in water, inter-molecular bonds hold together the atoms, you are the force that hold together everything.
