During the pandemic, my 82-year-old neighbor Dorothy enlisted my help in pulling weeds in her yard. Working side by side, she told me stories about her childhood growing up there in Brooklyn. Standing in front of a neighbor’s broken down van, she looked like a movie heroine, so I sketched her and painted her portrait from it. When I presented her with the portrait, she told me more stories about her past life as a teacher in the Brooklyn jail complex. This exchange of stories for portraits intrigued me.

Dorothy introduced me to Elizabeth, a retired painter who told me stories from her past in Italy, and about the recent loss of her father as I helped maintain her garden. Descriptions of joy and loss across generations while caring for living things during the pandemic struck me, as did the elastic nature of time during lockdown. I created 360 degree photo composites of both women to explore the unfolding of this moment of time, space and stories. 

I discussed the various dimensions of the project with my mom as she cared for her garden, so I painted her portrait as well.