This piece is a part of a series of works entitled “ 5,255 miles.” Five thousand two hundred fifty-five miles. That is how far the village my father was born in is from me here in Detroit. Hiré-Watta, located in Côte d'Ivoire. My parents immigrated to the States about 30 years ago and only recently acquired the papers to travel. On his first trip back to Côte d'Ivoire in 30 years, I dropped off my dad at the airport with a new camera I bought him and instructions to “capture as much as you can.”
After much time spent pouring through many videos and trying to pause at the perfect moment, this series was born. It is a glimpse of a life and people I have yet to experience personally but enjoy toying with in my imagination.