Keeping My Mom's Legacy Alive

My mom’s name is Lorrie-Ann.
Please help me meet her again.

She died on January 2nd, 2001, I only knew her for 5 years. She was hit head-on by a drunk driver on her way to work and was pronounced dead at the scene.

I will always miss my mom. I am now a 26 year old artist, whose work is deeply rooted in trying to understand who I am and why and how the experiences of my life shape my behavior and thoughts.

I am developing a legacy project for my mother, Lorrie. Over 40 VHS tapes of my mother exist. I have never watched any of them. As a child and throughout my adulthood, I pushed away and buried my feelings of sadness and loss surrounding her death. I am now ready to meet her and gain a better understanding of traits she gave me, who she was, and how she impacted others around her.

I plan to have the VHS tapes professionally digitized and combined into a single video. Over the course of an entire day, I will sit and watch my mother for the first time while live streaming my experience and inviting attendees to come and watch these tapes with me. I want to share the raw feelings and emotions that I will experience, invite the community to meet my mom and help me process these emotions that I have put off for so long.

This project is not just for me, this is for my children and their children, her friends, and our family. I believe It is my responsibility to be sure that this grief does not become a multigenerational burden.

Not only is this project an extension of my work as an artist, but a project to keep my mom’s legacy alive. I only have limited memories of my mother, and have been sitting on these tape that I’ve never had the courage to watch. I don’t even remember what she looks like.

Please, help me meet my mom.

I will be hosting a two day event  that will be open to the community. On the first day I will be showing and viewing the VHS tapes, and on the second day the event will culminate with an informally lead discussion about moms and their impact on us on her birthday, November 20th. It will have been 21 years without her and her 53rd birthday.

100% of your donations will be used to assist me in creating art to properly commemorate my mom.

Please donate if you can and share with your friends and family if you are not in a position to do so. No amount is too small. Thank you!

-Wiley