My Winter with Jeremy
"My Winter with Jeremy" is a video and photographic chronicle of my time sheltering a brown marmorated stink bug—a non-native species in North America that cannot survive winter outdoors and seeks refuge in human homes. During his stay, Jeremy entered diapause, a hibernation-like state in which insects suppress development and metabolism to endure cold months; caring for him became an intimate meditation on shelter, belonging, and bodies deemed 'invasive' within environments shaped by human boundaries.
The project draws on my ongoing examination of nature, migration, and otherness, paralleling ICE raids and the search for sanctuary, and asks what it means for both human and nonhuman bodies to mediate survival in spaces where they are rendered invisible or unwelcome. By situating Jeremy’s story within the liminal spaces of winter and home, I reflect on the complexities of harm, help, and the blurred lines between invader and refuge-seeker, challenging who gets to decide the boundaries of belonging.
The project draws on my ongoing examination of nature, migration, and otherness, paralleling ICE raids and the search for sanctuary, and asks what it means for both human and nonhuman bodies to mediate survival in spaces where they are rendered invisible or unwelcome. By situating Jeremy’s story within the liminal spaces of winter and home, I reflect on the complexities of harm, help, and the blurred lines between invader and refuge-seeker, challenging who gets to decide the boundaries of belonging.