“How’s your family?”

A BFA Thesis Exhibition by Janna Christian

Displayed at the Earl and Virginia Green Art Gallery at Biola University, March 19-22, 2018

Five and a half years ago, my family adopted my younger, special-needs sister. Because her disability and recovery from orphanhood demanded much more than we ever expected, our relationships strained and completely changed. Over time I have come to realize that although my family gained another person, we lost so much of what we used to have. I am still in the process of grieving that loss, and am faced with many tensions:

I had an expectation. But reality is far from it.

I am grieving. But I feel like I should be happy.

I know what it’s been like. But what others perceive makes me question what’s real.

I feel like this story should be complete by now. But it’s still unresolved.

So much has gone wrong. Is there any good that can come out of it?

I use black and white film photography together with handwritten quotes and journal entries to explore these tensions and to communicate a story that not many have experienced or understood. In a deeper way, I tell my story in an attempt to build connections to others’ stories, connections formed through the shared but varied human experiences of grief and struggle.