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Description
It has been acknowledged that memory does not exist as a chronological list of events. Rather, it is a combination of bits and pieces of events that are tied to our emotions, preferences, and imaginations. In Anamnesis, I explore the memories of our supposed pasts, researching how memory functions, fails, and compensates for these failures. The research is fueled by personal recollections and experiences of memory loss, a connection to architecture and place, and how time affects place and memory in similar ways. Dualities of logic and emotion, expectation and reality, and fact and imagination are considered, while research on contemporary and historical artists and movements have influenced how these concepts are physically expressed. Through this project, I question my own recollections, why our memories fail, and how our pasts influence our identities. Through the use of geometric ceramic sculpture, I express the process of recollection and the uncertainty it possesses. The passage of time and the fading of detail are permanently recorded, mimicking our consciousness and how we hold onto memories. The large, geometric forms represent the abstract idea of memory, influenced by the minimalist movement, architecture, and my mathematics background. Although geometric in form, the surfaces are intentionally left imperfect: marked by the hand in the making process. Driven by personal intuition, history of the process, nostalgia, and my own memories, these sculptures serve as surfaces for small, handwritten words that either speak on temporality and remembrance or convey the act of reflection through diminished personal writings. Each piece’s texts serve as building blocks that combine to generate an ever-changing monologue that shifts meaning, length, and order based on how the viewer chooses to interact. I discovered through this research how to accept memory loss as a natural process. Change is constant – although I know my memories will fade away, I have learned to appreciate how they have contributed to my sense of self, which will stay with me forever. Anamnesis was installed in the Everett Gee Jackson Gallery at San Diego State University from April 19-21, 2022.
