Re-remembered
Jay Sullivan
Re-Remembered is a story about fathers and sons, baseball, and mental illness. It is in the form of a one act play that describes how I used a creative, photographic process to reconnect with my estranged and long-deceased father.When I was five years old, my father suffered a bipolar episode and was sent to a psychiatric institution. It started him on a long descent from top IBM salesman to homeless on the streets of Brooklyn some 20 years later. Our relationship followed a similar trajectory; we spoke only twice in his final ten years.I began this creative journey by photographing the childhood objects that I most associated with my father. Over time, it became a trip into the emotional core of these objects, unearthing the feelings and memories associated with a black wallet, wingtip shoes, zippo lighter, baseball glove and many other long-forgotten items.Creating the series brought up many childhood memories. At first, all were negative experiences that reinforced my perception