This vintage photograph of my mother in her youth is a central artifact that visually anchors the theme of distance and nostalgia. It acts as a direct representation of the unanswered past that fuels the poem's core questions, specifically the yearning to know the 'stories etched into each groove' and the life she lived before the speaker's existence. This artifact is a symbolic representation of the unrequited conversation and distance that defines the poem. The sealed or unsent letter visually captures the project's central premise: the unanswered questions and the hunger to know more that remain unresolved. It physically manifests the barrier between the speaker's curiosity and the mother's untold history, driving the emotional core of the 'NENE' project.
