“When I originally picked up film photography as a pandemic hobby, I mostly shot street photography. After accidentally shooting the same roll of film twice, I became obsessed with creating multiple-exposure compositions, especially on expired film.

“Vestibules & Windows” is one of my somewhat accidental multiple-exposure pieces. I first shot this roll of expired film during my time at Middlebury Language Schools’ immersive Italian program in the summer of 2023. One day we went on a field trip to Williamstown, MA, where I shot a picture of a columned building interior. I took some multiple exposures on the same roll. Almost a year later, I visited my great-aunt in Fort Collins, CO, and hiked solo at Horsetooth Reservoir. The terrain fascinated me, and I accidentally shot over the same roll.

The title “Vestibules & Windows” is inspired by Piranesi by Susanna Clarke, which I first listened to on audiobook while I was a visiting student at the University of Oxford from 2021-22. Back then, I was struggling with chronic knee pain from an injury I eventually found out was a torn meniscus. In my attempts to ease my pain and distract myself from it, I would take hot baths and listen to Piranesi. I remember the words “vestibules” and “windows” were especially frequent.

This photo is my Trace Fossil, representing my intellectual and physical journeys across the world while living with chronic pain. Like Piranesi, I struggle to physically transgress this world’s infinite halls. Meanwhile, I seek the accompanying, infinite vestibules and windows—intellectual pursuits—as an escape from my chronic pain. I also see this photo as a complication of the natural outdoor world and the man-made interior world.”