The Things I Carry Home

On collecting objects, memories, and the parts of ourselves we leave behind

I’ve always believed the world speaks in artifacts. Or at least, my memory does. I don’t know why I feel the need to document my entire life artistically. I must have been a recorder keeper in a past life or something.

I guess this is what happens when you believe your life is one big treasure hunt. Everything you find along the way is just another clue for you to follow to find…well the next clue of course!

I am remembering something one of my dear friends said to me when I was visiting her after she had her baby. We used to travel together a lot and I asked when we would be going on the next adventure. Her reply, “Jolene, you are the adventure.”

That might have been one of the most resonating things someone has ever said to me. I do feel that way. So when I am adventuring, and something catches my eye, it must have meaning.

I find clues to life in the small things. The things most people walk past. A rusted key. A broken handle. A scrap of paper. Something dropped, lost, forgotten.

I don’t see those things as random.

I see them as evidence.

That belief is what became my Nomadic Novelties Series—a book of images made from objects I’ve collected all over the world.