18-24

 I remember being only 15 years old and looking at myself, and realizing I wasn't seeing myself, I was looking at remains. 

Mental health in youth needs to be addressed and unstigmatized. If left without the support we need, we can burn ourselves into metaphorical ashes, leaving behind just a shell of who we were or might become. Cast ash takes the familiar form of a frame from the mantel, and holds etched glass images from childhood photographs. The polarizing film allows the viewer to see only one image at a time: me as an unhappy child, or recently during a manic depressive episode. Both reveal the ever-present gaze of frustration and unaddressed depression, even at such an early age.