Houses and homes are not the same, nor are they interchangeable. This piece takes the form of a simple house frame paired with a wax figure. The wax itself is an abstraction of a single person that’s been replicated and fused together multiple times. Despite this, the figure continues to have the same stoic expression. The house’s appearance and the relative placement of the figure suggests this is a home, this is not the case. A home should be comfortable and a place of solitude. Meanwhile, the walls of this “Home” are empty and allow for anyone to observe the interior. The walls act as a lens into the personal life of the owner.

HOME represents the conflict between how people think they should portray their lives to the public, and the reality they hide. This has become more apparent with the advent of social media and the internet as a whole. Instead of having face-to-face conversations where non-verbal communication plays an integral part, society can now hide behind walls of text with identity being more or less a choice. I’m no exception to this truth. Growing up my parents would try to instill what they determined were good christian values in myself and my brother. This made me work really hard to be the daughter they wanted. I had charisma, intelligence and a drive to do something important with my life. None of this mattered when they found out I was gay. What I presented to my parents was not what they saw when they took a closer look at my life. This created a rift in our home.

Filtering information is just part of life. However it easily damages both the individual and the group when appearance is all that is considered. Talking about issues in homes and family units is almost taboo in our society. It’s something we all deal with everyday with circumstances varying depending on the home. My disconnect with my parents has grown to be a toxic and harmful environment and I no longer feel like the house I grew up in is my home.