Yvela Jessica

 By interviewing others, Yvela Jessica was able to ask questions she wished had been answered during her childhood. She began her research in Eindhoven, in the neighbourhood where the woman who has been braiding her hair since she was eight, has been living.  From Eindhoven, she travelled to Paris, the city where she first saw people who looked like her out on the streets, at the age of ten. Eventually, Yvela found her birth mother in Haiti, reconnecting with her online. Through conversations about family, friendship, home, and belonging, the work became a way to navigate the complexity of adoption and identity while seeing parts of herself reflected in the people she met along the way. 

It Means Everything Because This Is Who I Am is an ongoing exploration of identity and human connection, driven by curiosity and shaped by experiences of loss. While combining photography, film, poetry, interviews, archival material, and tactile elements the project addresses the importance of representation. By re-examining romanticised narratives around adoption, the work speaks to people who question where they truly belong.