'Leave to Remain' examines the experience of having a long-distance family. Like many, Benadie’s family is spread far across time-zones, seasons, and climates. Migrating at a young age and growing up separate from those in-person familial experiences, she looks to the significance of our alternate means of connection, such as written letters and video calls. The digital renderings of birthdays, Christmases, and funerals are a privilege to her. Nonetheless, there is a disconnect that can be felt from this, which is echoed in the fragmented visuals she provides us with.
Milk bottles of sand, and butter tubs filled with shells are two of the most notable items that Benadie’s grandparents carefully packed in their suitcases when visiting. Gestures like these have informed the body of work and brought in an element of sentimentality.
Featuring some of her family members photographed remotely using a smartphone app, Leave to Remain embraces the low-quality imagery offered by the phone. Contrasting the imperfect nature of these video-call portraits with photographs taken on the physical medium of film, the artist creates a disparity in tangibility within the images; a disparity which brings us to consider the value of real-life, in-person connection.
Milk bottles of sand, and butter tubs filled with shells are two of the most notable items that Benadie’s grandparents carefully packed in their suitcases when visiting. Gestures like these have informed the body of work and brought in an element of sentimentality.
Featuring some of her family members photographed remotely using a smartphone app, Leave to Remain embraces the low-quality imagery offered by the phone. Contrasting the imperfect nature of these video-call portraits with photographs taken on the physical medium of film, the artist creates a disparity in tangibility within the images; a disparity which brings us to consider the value of real-life, in-person connection.
Forth and back
Milk bottles of sand
And butter tubs of shells
Our kin will bring
Milk bottles of sand
And butter tubs of shells
Our kin will bring
A missed embrace
Digital candles and
Kisses to the screen
A yawn caught across seas
We realise
Much like the swallows,
We must
Leave to Remain