Leon Magnus Mallillin
William Greiner "X-mas House at Night"
1994, Dye coupler print
I selected this image because the subject matter and colors reminds me of a time in my life when everything felt so magical. However the photograph also reminds me of harsher times that I can now look back at with joy. I can remember all the years spent sleeping in some family friends apartment sharing the bed and room with my parents, grandma, and two sisters. We were always moving, and because of that movement I never had a distinct place to call home or people to call my friends, to me my family was my home and they were my friends. Which brings me back to the reason why I picked this specific image, Christmas time was one of the only times in my childhood when things felt stable, with the holiday spirit keeping us hopeful. Holiday seasons meant no day long moves to follow jobs, no time spent without parents, no frozen dinners, no worried arguments between parents, and most importantly it meant that we still had each other.
