Readdressing

A helmet is meant to protect your head, one of the most fundamental gear in ice hockey. Over time, putting it on became a ritual. My number, my helmet, they were talismans, extensions of my identity. When an autoimmune disease ended my career, I couldn't let it go. I had worn that helmet almost every day; it had absorbed my sweat, my fears, and my victories. It shielded my head, where all my memories live. In a way, it protected the archive of who I was. So I began covering it with stickers, small images that each carry a piece of me: beliefs, memories, and identities. The process started with a question: Can you wear the same helmet forever? Maybe not. But as the helmet fills with new layers, it protects me in a different way – not from impact, but from forgetting. The final piece is a visual metaphor, a memory made visible. The stickers form a kind of armor, layered with fragments of past seasons and present selves.