What We Lost in the Fire is a self-portrait photography and visual poetry project inspired by the life and legacy of my grandmother, Joyce Walker. The work was created across Canada and Jamaica, through research, exploration, and engagement with memory — drawing on family stories, historical context, and personal investigation of identity and ancestry. Each image was carefully composed to capture both intimate emotion and broader generational narratives, connecting histories across place and time.
The project examines the experiences of Caribbean women who migrated to Canada, the family histories shaped by these movements, and the legacies of resilience, strength, and survival they carried. By centering these stories, the work illuminates the lives of women like my grandmother — their labor, courage, and determination — and explores how these histories continue to shape identity, community, and belonging today.
Produced by Alexxa Walker
Assisted by Shenea Honey
Supported by Canada Council of the Arts
Process & Methodology
The project began with interviews with family members in Canada and Jamaica, as well as research into the social and cultural histories of Caribbean migration. These informed the creation of staged photographic scenes, where I perform multiple roles — sometimes embodying Joyce, sometimes other family members — highlighting the fluidity of memory and identity.
Photographs incorporate family objects, clothing, and memorabilia, adding layers of symbolism that reflect personal and intergenerational narratives. Video sequences extend the story, combining interviews, environmental footage, and performative movement to convey the passage of time and the continuity of family histories.
Text elements — from interviews, archival research, and Jamaican proverbs — are embedded within the work to provide context and deepen storytelling, serving as both documentation and narrative bridge.
Results
- A body of photographs depicting key moments across Joyce Walker’s life and diaspora history
- Video sequences combining environmental and experimental footage as well as photos give it a cinematic experience
- Text elements providing cultural, historical, and familial context
- Figures in the images blend myself and my grandmother, emphasizing memory, identity, and continuity across generations
Together, these forms reconstruct, preserve, and celebrate Joyce’s story, while exploring broader themes of Black womanhood, diaspora, and intergenerational legacy.
