2018 · Crossing the Threshold
Designing a Future Self
The self TheIssa had been exploring in images had to move through a less forgiving world in 2018. Relocation brought the possibility of a different life, but moving between cities coincided with betrayal, the loss of a best friend, and major fallouts. Distance exposed how differently two people could understand the same friendship.
The excitement of becoming someone new was tangled with discovering who would not come with him. Loyalty and respect could no longer be assumed because of shared history or proximity. Some relationships ended with the painful recognition that what he had trusted was not what the other person had been living.
He kept designing the future in the photographs: silhouette, grooming, setting, and presence grew more deliberate. Music and image offered a way to rehearse a life beyond the upheaval. Yet choosing a direction and finishing it remained difficult, especially when institutions seemed more ready to assess his compliance or credentials than acknowledge his contribution.
Derek’s absence had taught him the pain of being unable to stay close. These endings asked something different of him: sometimes staying would mean protecting the appearance of loyalty after its substance had gone. Leaving could be an act of honesty. He crossed this threshold with more self-direction, but less certainty that the people and places he knew would always remain within reach.