commune

Commune, 2024 is a photographic series conducted during my student exchange in Montreal and explores the bonds that form within shared living dynamics. The series documents the development of my housemate’s and I’s relationships, our unique quirks, and the ways that our lives intertwine. Ordinary objects appear repeatedly in different shots around our apartment, marking our movements and hinting at our independent lifestyles. In one shot, Zach is eating a meal from a bowl, which I later find unwashed and hidden in the oven next to a dirty mug. His brother Enzo operates similarly, stashing a pan with yesterday’s rice under a table in his bedroom with his buddha and weed grinder above keeping a close eye. Josh, who works late nights at a local bar across the train tracks, enjoys breakfasts at noon and catching up on an episode of Quebec’s popular dating show. Once our days spent apart come to an end, our shoes lovingly pile on top of one another and we reunite in our sanctuary. I sit back and enjoy an icy Canadian IPA from the ‘dep’ downstairs as the brothers challenge one another on dj decks and Josh practices his interpretive dancing for a uni elective. Their boyishness entertains me as much as it often bothers me like it would a sister. Looking at the photos now I reminisce over tiny but lively details, like the sweeping mark of someone wiping down the kitchen bench earlier that day, or our spit decorating the bathroom tap. Daily rituals are layered over and over one another with my spirit still lingering amongst them, ever-present through practices of memory, documentation and connection.