Presents from My Father is a catalog of the objects my father stored in our basement throughout my childhood. On a shelf beside family photos and a box of old report cards sit the supplies he assembled in preparation for the end of times and the destruction foretold in the tribulation period. Buckets of long-term food, cases of ammunition, survival manuals, and a well-worn bible form a collection shaped by his deep commitment to Jesus and his study of scripture. Central to these teachings is the concept of the rapture, described in the book of Revelation. It is the moment when Jesus will return to claim his followers. In my father’s belief, he will ascend with his God, leaving these supplies behind. Leaving them behind for me.

Not identifying as a Christian myself, I am left to confront these objects not as tools for survival, but as symbols of the abandonment my father is preparing me for. Whether a conscious effort or not, when the trumpets sound, these items are what will remain of my father. More than mere objects, they are symbols of my father’s patriarchal protection that will transcend the end of the world.