The Kitchen

The kitchen of the Mulder home is the site of all the family meals. Even after Matthies's death, his chair remains positioned around the table. Though he has passed, no one is allowed to touch or occupy his seat. Jas believes the chair is a sign of his possible return.

Whenever the family is positioned in the kitchen, the narrative shifts to images of Mum's movements. She is often depicted making cheese or other homemade dishes from the garden's harvest or farm products. Much of the family tension also occurs within this communal space. Mum and Dad's arguments will begin around the inedibility of the food and expand into larger more volatile fights. Jas also traces her mother's increasingly frail health through images of her mother's refusal to eat. Instead of sitting with the family she paces around the table. Jas also feels Dad's emotional distance or...