Emily Miller

What does it look like to imagine a life time?

1000 Moons is an art installation and grief process of 1000+ hand-formed paper moons, representing every full moon cycle witnessed by my grandmother from her birth to her death. 1000 Moons envisions a lifetime as a tangible space where viewers can locate themselves within the full span of another life.

About 1000 Moons

I began this project after both my grandparents died of Covid, as I struggled to stay grounded in my own life, and my understanding of time became distorted and unreal. In response, I am hand-forming 40 oversize sheets of paper with kelp, sheet music, and other materials linked to their history, and cutting them apart into 1,175 circles to represent each full moon in my grandmother's 94 years of life. Stringing each circle together to form a hanging corridor, 1000 Moons creates a physical pathway through time and memory.

In the absence of any time-based American tradition of mourning and grief, during a moment in history when existing grief rituals have been scattered, this work has become a new tradition for me to understand, honor, and process the length of a life.

I imagine my own life time overlapping with hers in the physical space occupied by the 1000 Moons: how many of these moons we saw together, how many she shared with my grandfather, my father, my aunts. Which moons were darkest, and which shone bright? How do I measure the time passed since?

Community Connection

Sharing this work is a way of inviting community into grief, in direct response to the isolation I felt after their deaths. Sharing my ongoing process centers the work of grieving as an ongoing process, and affirms that this process requires sustained space in our lives, our communities, and our culture. This sustained space is a vital part of our ability to heal and connect as a community, from the losses and isolation of the past 18 months and counting.

Contribute & Participate

You can support the project through financial and/or written contributions.

Your donations will fund hundreds of hours of my time creating the artwork and managing the community events, materials costs, and accessible photo / video documentation of each installation. Your written contributions will be included in future exhibitions for community connection and growth.


The GoFundMe page shares healing paths and traditions contributed by the community, using the platform's Updates and Comments.
Click here to contribute and participate.

Schedule of Events

From October 2021 to March 2022, I am sharing my ongoing process of creating the moons: in a series of virtual conversations, an immersive video walk-through, and physical displays in public space. During each event, I invite all who have experienced loss and grief, especially during this current crisis, to share their new traditions for finding and following a healing path. I invite all participants to visualize their own life times, and those of their loved ones, within this space of 1000 Moons.

All presentations will be recorded, subtitled, and posted online. Physical installations will be documented with immersive video walk-throughs and posted online.

• October 12, 2021: Virtual Conversation hosted by Portland Textile Month (free, registration required)
  • Event recording video
  • Event recording text transcript


• Oct. 18, 2021 - Jan. 5, 2022: Physical installation at Crema Art Annex
  
  • Street-level window installation for outdoor viewing
  • 2805 SE Ankeny, Portland, OR


• Oct. 10-29, 2021: Physical mini-installation at Gallery GoGo
  
  • Indoor gallery space (second floor, ADA accessible)
  • Pioneer Place, downtown Portland, OR
    700 SW 5th Ave #3015, Portland, OR 97204


• December 2021: Gathering of Light at Crema Art Annex
  • Exact date TBD depending on weather (ideally between Dec. 18-21)
  • 2805 SE Ankeny, Portland, OR
  • An informal outdoor gathering of memory, honoring the return of light, held at the time of the longest night
  • Candles available or bring your own


• February 16, 2022: Virtual Conversation hosted by Walters Cultural Arts Center (free, registration required)


• Further 2022 exhibitions and conversations announced in early 2022. Sign up for my email newsletter to be notified.