Kristin Hess, Left Without a Trace, 2021, Intaglio on Plexiglass

 

When I was younger I always dreamed of sailing off to neverland. To live the life of a pirate, but what happens when you take away the disneyfied mask. What would happen to the fairytale if it didn’t end with a happily ever after? 

Each person has their own life experiences, and when we pass all we leave behind are memories. Stories for people to tell of our own adventures and battles. It is all too easy with technology today to get caught up in one’s own life and dissociate from others. You can listen to the news or go on social media, but at the end of the day they are just another article or picture on your screen. This past summer I spent working and studying on a sailboat travelling around the Caribbean. I had the opportunity to meet new people and listen to their stories. I chose to record one particular story in my own interpretation. Whether this story is true or has been embellished over time, it tells the tale of a cursed island. Where an island that looked so beautiful had a dark past, and the closer you looked at it the more deadly it would become.