Series: The Distortion of Memory
I admit I have a terrible memory. I retell the same stories multiple times to the same people. I occasionally notice their eyes subtly glaze over. Have I told you this before? Yes, I have, haven’t I!
I also like to embellish a good memory. My theory is that we all like a good story and why not make it even more entertaining than the original? All the while keeping the framework of truth alive (of course).
Does lack of memory change who I become? Who I am to the world? There are parts of my life and people that I barely have a recollection of anymore. I will remember a brief snippet of something we did once, but not their face. I won’t remember their name or the main tide of our friendship.
This series of paintings and miniatures plays with the idea of experience transfused through memory. Behind the door we have a snippet of a photograph, this suggests the actual experience or place we have been. We have a chair that represents the fact we were there. Then we close the door and are left with a much larger and more abstract version of what we actually experienced. Details are muted. Memory focusses on capturing the flavour of the moment over the microscopic detail. This is how my memory seems to work.