The words that she wrote
I find myself chasing memories again, joining fragments of the past, gathering small pieces of evidence, and trying to distinguish truth from the soft blur of time. I return to the physical and photographic traces of the close relationship I shared with my dear Grandma. This work becomes a gateway to memory: an escape into the past, and a reflection on how each generation reshapes the way it communicates.
Phillis, known as Merle, lived a full and healthy life, passing away the very year Facebook was born. She stood on the threshold of a changing world...perhaps catching glimpses of my cheeky Nokia phone or the early novelty of email, but never witnessing the overwhelming tide of image-led, app-driven communication that defines how we connect today.
She loved language. Words mattered to her. A master of shorthand, she valued precision and expression; I imagine she would be quietly dismayed by the abbreviations, the softened edges of “lazy language,” and the rise of emojis that now carry so much of our meaning. Her world was one of letters, carefully written, thoughtfully composed. Those letters have travelled with me over the years, moving from garage to loft since I left my parents’ home in the early 1990s. They remain beautiful, intimate records of connection.
“The Words That She Wrote” contains several deeply personal compositions, shaped by her letters, family photographs, and treasured belongings. Together, they rekindle moments of closeness, fragments of family life, and vivid reminders of who I was in my teens and early twenties. They offer a precious way to revisit the past a temporary escape, but also a space for reflection.
And yet, they leave me wondering: how will future generations remember? Is writing itself slowly fading? Will they know the quiet intimacy of letters, the patience of storytelling through words? Will they ever experience connection as I did with my Grandma, through sentences carefully chosen, stories gently unfolded, and meaning carried not in symbols, but in language itself?