On June 15, 2020 father passed away from Mantle Cell Lymphoma. Due to COVID-19, trials for the potentially lifesaving (CAR) T cell therapy ceased. One month after he passed, the FDA approved this as the first cell-based gene therapy or the treatment of MCL. One month too late.

One week after my father died, I followed the cardboard box that housed his body to the crematory and pushed the small green button to incinerate his body. My action, a simple push, eliminated the last recognizable form of my father and his physical presence on this earth. With this work, I aim to illuminate the grieving process by providing a matter of fact and inside prospective on what happens to the body after it expires.  Even though the pandemic caused my father to be just one month too late from receiving a possibly lifesaving treatment, I hope that others can still learn from this process of loss.

Final Journey, Archival Inkjet Prints, 12”x18”, matted and framed to 18”x24”, 2020