Ariel Thomas
Atia Pokorny
Elsie Nisonen
Jude Marion
Robert Caspary
Memory and Photography Lab presents an evolving exhibition of works exploring different facets and interpretations of memory and its unique embeddedness in photography. Beginning with an initial installation by the group of artists, the public will be invited to participate (over the following three consecutive Saturday afternoons) in the making of lens-based memory pieces to be kept, or added to the exhibition.
These events will explore contemporary themes including reclamation of loss through the photo-mnemonic, shifting emotional content of images, and the digital file as memory keeper. At each event different conceptual experiments will provide the topics for informal conversations as works are created.
Saturday, January 12: The Family Album — family histories through photographic narrative constructs, re-interpreted with collage, image folding, image transfers, and personal interventions. This setting will reflect on personal memories as shaped by the narrative of the family album, both pictorial and spoken remembrance.
Saturday, January 19: Collective Memories — human/social remembering through collaborative production such as a quilt making, mobile or transfer/ collage images on 3D supports. This setting will reflect on domestic ritual and past oral practices of sharing memories and stories around a worktable.
Saturday, January 26: Forgetting and Remembering — personal preservation of personal memories includes the manipulation/alteration of images to best suit memory’s ‘reality’. This setting will reflect on placing the memory ahead of the image, making our personal images conform to our personal narratives.
The themes for the individual Saturday sessions (and the images of the evolving exhibition) will serve as inspiration for visitors to join at the table for creative fun. The art table will offer papers, photographs, scissors, glue and other common materials. There is no need to register, attendance is on drop in basis 1–4 pm each Saturday.
The Memory Lab will conclude on the final Saturday, February 2, with a moderated discussion of Photography’s Effect on Memory/ Memory’s Effect on Photography, as well as a critical review of the experiments conducted and the resulting exhibition.
