House of Collections

There is something fascinating about investigating abandoned buildings. I use what was left behind: old papers, broken objects, and discarded furniture to imagine what once existed. I create narratives for the different types of people that would inhabit these spaces and collect their objects to recreate environments filled with their stories. Some objects are my own personal story while others are those of a stranger. Everything I have collected is found in Charlotte, North Carolina, the only home I’ve ever known. It is a place that never holds on to anything. There is more concern for creating anew than renovating the old. To me there is something tragic about old buildings being demolished and places fading into mere memories. My work is a reflection on the inevitability of loss and time. House of Collections is still on view in the lobby of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte Center City Building.