Artist’s Statement:

This piece explores themes of death and grief, specifically how the world around someone impacted by a death can become just as puzzling as the event itself. It is creative-nonfiction, and this is an autobiographical work, recounting, and fixating on, my memory of the day my dad died. This is a day that shaped the rest of my life, and it has defined itself as a core moment that I have always tried, and will continue to try, to understand.
Writing this piece, my dad has appeared to me in several dreams. And he smiles.

Author Bio:

Tristen is a member of Barnard's class of 2022. Today she learned that there is a sea slug that can photosynthesize (look it up). She enjoys everything outdoors and overhearing people's conversations on the street in Morningside Heights.