dissipate

 

Photo book & polaroids, 2015

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My ex broke up with me over a WhatsApp conversation – given that we were in a long distance technology dependent relationship, breaking up in person would have been impossible, and so it happened over a cyberspace of floating words instead. The toxic relationship went through many phases in the span of nine months, a journey that is portrayed in my book. There were many moments through the spaces towards the end, where there was a constant anticipation on my end. I was always waiting for a reply and when it would come it would be either long or more often than not, short heart-breaking words, leaving me with a kind of “bam!" like the bursting sound of my Polaroid popping in the microwave. Also, similar to the anticipation of waiting while heating something up in the microwave, I was constantly in anticipation waiting for a reply, and when I heard back it was gut-wrenching words that broke my heart. I put Polaroids I photographed in the microwave, but what I photographed did not matter, it was what happened to the Polaroid once popped into the microwave that did. Every emotion towards the end of the relationship felt surreal; technology really gives people a means to disappear and this series of work is my memento of that.

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