“The Marks We Leave Behind”

This project is a personal narrative about mourning. It was always difficult for my father to talk about his past, so most of his story is a mystery to me. As his health declined over the course of 10 years, his ability to recall and articulate memories deteriorated, and the gaps in the narrative of my family lineage became a sort of folklore. The loss before the loss. The images in this series were taken at my parents’ home in 2022 while my father was still alive, and at his funeral in July 2023. The sculptures were created from objects he used, spent time with, and discarded. This body of work navigates the complicated feelings of love I still feel for my father as well as the frustration that he was a flawed human.

Janell is originally from a small town in Ohio where both sides of her family have lived for the last five generations. She went to The Ohio State University, graduating in 2008 with a BFA in photography. After taking a long break from art, working 10 years in marketing, she came to Purdue University in the fall of 2021 to pursue her MFA. She currently lives with her partner in West Lafayette, Indiana.