Belonging

Belonging is an ongoing visual diary that explores what home means to me and how it is deeply rooted in my paternal family ties in and around Philadelphia, USA. Combining self-portraits, archival materials, and everyday moments captured in still photographs and moving images, this project documents my journey of reconnecting with my cultural and biological roots. In 2017, I met my family for the first time and as I reconnect with my heritage, I am forming profound bonds with relatives. By stepping into an unfamiliar landscape of cultures and emotions, I translate my narrative into images: capturing the joy of finally belonging, and the grief of longing for a past I can never fully reclaim. Throughout this process, I have collected family photographs from the US and juxtaposed them with photos from my life in Denmark and Germany as I wish to portray differences and similarities between my lived experience and my family's lived experience. By capturing everyday moments in reportage and portraits, I visually want to preserve moments that I have experienced in real time. By recreating moments and turning the camera on myself, echoing W.E.B. Du Bois’ concept of double consciousness, I want to bridge the gap that has existed between myself and my background. Growing up between Denmark and Germany, my practice and my gaze are shaped by my experience of existing as a black woman within predominantly white surroundings. I use my body as a tool to challenge my own narrative and understand my inherent gaze.