Ellipsis of Memory
Ellipsis of Memory — Artist’s Statement -
In this series of photographic images I consider the nature of memory as it relates to people, past and present, and as it evolves and devolves over time. As in the elliptical path of subatomic particles revolving around the nucleus of an atom, memory revolves through us and around us during our lives. When we are distanced from others, whether through time or place, their images in our mind’s eye may be crystal clear — we remember the smallest details and draw on multiple senses to recreate a memory of a person at a unique time and place. But memory can fail or be transformed over time. It may lack the key details needed to create a mental image or become idealized or otherwise changed. Reality is suggested not defined. When we meet someone from the past, memory informs the present. We may discover that our memory does not match the person in front of us. We have changed from the time our memory was formed. The memory becomes untethered from the person standing before us.
When viewing my images up close and then from a distance, you will experience some of what I consider in this work — the role of memory in our understanding or misunderstanding of people, the role of portraiture in relation to memory, and the role of time and distance in understanding another person. The closer you view one of my images, the less “understandable” it becomes. Distance brings more clarity but it is closer to the understanding or loss of understanding gained by distance, time, and memory.
