Artist Statement
I should have come earlier
In October 2025, my little sister came to live with my husband and me in Los Angeles permanently. At the time, I had no idea it would happen. She had simply come to Los Angeles to see if it was the hellhole my mother claimed it was. My sister is mentally disabled and is probably 13 years old in her mind, old enough to have a good conversation but young enough to still be pretty naïve. So basically, she believed everything my mom said.
My mom, who spent a lifetime caring for her, decided while my sister was out here that she was done. What started as a conversation became a full-blown argument, which then turned into a life-altering decision, the effects of which I am still living with today.
Being this close to my sister has been something of an adjustment. Not because she’s difficult. No, she’s a delight. But because being this close to her as an adult has helped me see her in ways I never could when we were separated by distance. Every day, I learn something new about her. It’s been the most gut-wrenching year for both of us emotionally, but those emotions have traveled along the spectrum, from sheer joy to wonder to grief.
After a few months, one evening while we were walking alongside the beach, she looked over to me and said: “I should have come out earlier.” It was her way of telling me she could see the beauty of my chosen home city.
These pictures are a visual journal of what our life in Los Angeles has been like since she arrived. Even when she is not in the picture, the subject is something that affects her. This is a record of our newfound relationship built in the city I have chosen to call home.
