The smell of the outdoors pervaded the air as viewers approached the ethereal monolith of the memory tent, glowing against the orange walls of the gallery. The walls of the tent were filled with cuttings of native plants, creating intricate shadows and subtle movement against the canvas. The influence of sight, sound, scent, space and light all encourage memory recall, and through interaction with these archetypal and yet highly personal elements, viewers could explore their own ever-changing landscapes of memory.

Inspired by the popular children’s matching game, we created The Memory Game as a set of archetypal memories, glimpses of experiences from all stages of life, from the mundane to the extraordinary, from birth to death. We used images from our own sets of memories, shown as pairs of projected images, randomly combined, to form imagined narratives that interact with the viewer’s own set of memories.

Like our own experience of memory, colored by filters of emotion and life context, these photographic images are colored by layers of skyscapes and landscapes, sometimes obscuring, sometimes highlighting the view. The projections were shown in a unique, double-walled tent, built as an insulated, sacred space for contemplating the nature of memory.

 

-- description from the exhibition at
Coastline Community College Gallery
Huntington Beach, California
October/November 2008