Returned to Sender

This work is based on my experience with regret and a reflection on how choices made throughout my life, or lack thereof, have shaped the relationships I make and my perception of self. Like many others, I often get caught up in worrying over not saying the right thing, in the perfect way, at the most opportune moment; only to not say anything at all and never express my honest feelings with the other person. While typically a fleeting emotion for most, these worries can compound themselves to the point of self-loathing and excessively stressing over how others perceive me, wearing down my sense of worth. Since slowly growing to make peace with these regrets over the years, I was inspired to create an experience that channels this familiar struggle and positions the audience to face their own. After taking an interest in writing and mailing letters, I was reminded of its private yet permanent nature – putting words to paper that can best convey your feelings, and having little control over how these thoughts, and by extension yourself, are perceived once the letter leaves your hands. The practice of letter writing within my artwork was thus used to encourage expressing vulnerability anonymously, in dialogue with the fact that each letter - from the handwriting and style of prose, to the smudges of words erased and rewritten - tells the story of a unique person that we determine how to interpret.

These letters serve as a space for people to share their thoughts freely; to give well wishes, to apologize, to say goodbye (or hello after a long time). Through this, viewers can communicate with the people in their respective lives without expecting a direct reaction from them. The choice of what they do with their letter drives a purposeful catharsis in coming to terms with their regret: either by ridding themselves of the burden by destroying it, or releasing it alongside others in a shared emotional release. In our rapidly and digitally connected world where some view letter mail as obsolete, the meditative act of forming and physically translating thoughts to paper compels the audience to commit their time to what they choose to express. Brought together by the mailbox, the writing of each individual who partakes in the experience adds permanence to the collective space created together through the destruction and sharing of their words.