GOODBYE, OLD HOUSE

A young child visits their old haunts for the last time with affection and greets their new home with enthusiasm.

Tousle-headed and lively, the child runs through the landscape of their old home, naming all the activities they will never do again in this place: fishing in the river, running through the trees, petting the pony, swinging on the gate, eating at the table, dreaming by the fire. They stand at the open door, looking wistfully out at the familiar scenery, then bounce from room to room, saying goodbye to each one in turn. They even change the writing on their bedroom wall to the past tense: It now reads “Sam lived here.” The process is reversed as they travel to their new home and explore all the activities in the new place: pushing open the gate, climbing a tree, petting a new cat, and saying “Hello” to the new rooms. They add an inscription on the bedroom wall: “Sam lives here now.” The visual treatment is striking: Loose black-and-white cutout sketches of the child (whose skin is, therefore, paper-white) are collaged over soft, muted, almost abstract landscapes. The effect is pleasing, but there is little detail for a child to pore over. In spite of the paucity of detail, this would serve well to soothe a child anxious about a potentially traumatic experience.