No Place at Home

Sam Wolson & Lilli Carré / United States / Interactive Visual Story / 2025 / 20 min

Artist statement

Last January, President Trump signed an executive order restricting access to gender-affirming care for minors. ‘No Place at Home’ tells the story of a mother, Tina, and her trans teen, J.J., who were living in Maine at the time and, out of concern for J.J.’s well-being, made the difficult decision to leave the United States.

Reported by Sam Wolson over several months and illustrated by Lilli Carré, the project blends in-depth interviews with Tina and J.J., as they pack up their home, say goodbye to everything they know, and get ready to move to Mexico.

Because of the sensitive nature of the family’s situation, it was necessary to protect the identities of the subjects while still conveying the truth of their experience. Lilli Carré honored this goal by rotoscoping real video footage of mother and teen alongside metaphorical imagery of morphing flowers.

Her loose brush strokes and painterly animations bring Tina and J.J. to life, conveying the texture and nuance of their relationship at this pivotal moment. Gaussian Splats, a new technique allowed the building of photo-realistic environments derived from Wolson’s digital photographs of the family’s home in Maine.

Once photographed, such elements as flowers in the garden, personal objects, and intimate spaces before and after the move were reconstructed in 3D. The result is a blended form of storytelling that allows readers not only to see a world, but to feel what it means to leave that world behind.

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Text and Visuals
Sam Wolson

Illustration
Lilli Carré