The Nostalgia Project

The Nostalgia Project began with a simple question:
What did you love between the ages of 7 and 14?

As an immigrant child, I didn’t fully understand what we lacked until others pointed it out. What we did have, however, was deeply cherished. Objects were rarely disposable; they were hard-earned, cared for, and carried emotional weight.

During the pandemic, I found myself returning to the small treasures I had kept tucked away in a trunk from childhood. I began drawing and painting these objects, each one tied to vivid memories, emotions, and fragments of identity.

What began as an act of comfort slowly became a process of reflection and rediscovery. Through these illustrations and paintings, I began tracing how memory lives within ordinary objects and how joy, resilience, and longing continue to shape who we become.