Artist Statement

“Proof of Life”

I lost my partner, Renato(Tato) Duarte Finocchiaro, December 13th, 2025, to his battle with mental illness. This is a document not only of his life but the impact of his absence. He was the sun in my life, warm and radiant. I spent days of our lives taking pictures of the everyday moments because I believe mundanity is the most connecting human experience. The quiet moments at home, where all I could hear was him snoring on the couch or his laughter in the kitchen, or the way he would say, “I love you.”

He would tell me why I was so obsessed with him, or he would warn me and say how he didn’t deserve to be seen because he’d just disappoint me. I refused to agree, so it became a challenge to show him just how beautiful he was through my eyes. I always was trying to make our love permanent, memorable in frames, and something to hold on to for when he would say the “demons in his head were too loud.”

In his darkest moments, he would tell me he didn’t think he would ever matter enough to be remembered. I told him how could anyone forget someone like the sun.

This project is a “proof of life,” a document that he does matter, he always will matter because he lived. Also, it’s just as much his proof of life as it is mine, or even yours, or someone you love.

So here’s my story with my Osito, my little bear, my sun, my shining star. Thank you for being here, and I encourage you to remind those in your life just how much they are loved and how much they would be missed.