Rozie's House
Installation ; Rozie's House, inkjet prints and poem
My long-time friend Rosalind (aka Roz and Rozie) died early morning on September 15, 2014, after a two-year battle with cancer. I stayed with her as the hospice nurse gently bathed Rozie, dressed her in a clean nightie and tucked her into bed. Rozie looked as though she was having a lovely nap.
Alone in the still and quiet, I felt Rozie’s presence lingering and began to take photographs; her books, her art, tabletop tableaus, her photographs, flowers, light and shadow, her chair left as it was when last pushed away from the table.
Soon family and friends arrived with condolences, casseroles, and pizza. Chairs were moved, doors opened and closed, voices buzzed and murmured in conversations, telling stories of Rozie in past tense as her presence became diluted and diminished.