SOPHIA CHRISTIE
PROPOSAL FOR MEMENTO
I had a number of potential titles for my degree show artwork: Lightbulb Moment, Eternal Sunshine, Memento, Memory Palace.
I discounted Lightbulb Moment and Memory Palace as they were clearly linked with the spark-like moment of recall or the process of remembering rather than forgetting. Eternal Sunshine was taken from the 2004 film 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind' in which Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet's characters seek to delete each other from their memories when their relationship ends. Although I thought the film linked well with my theme of lost memories, the title may have conjured images of solar systems rather than a neural web, therefore undermining the meaning of the work.
Memento was also taken from a film title. In the Christopher Nolan film from 2000, the protagonist suffers amnesia as a result of earlier trauma. He is unable to form new memories and therefore tracks his investigation into the death of his wife using a complex system of photographs, tattoos and notes. The title relates to my artwork through the reference to trauma, absence of memory and fabrication of artificial memories.
The term Memento also has a longstanding tradition in the art world within the phrase 'Memento Mori', a reminder of death symbolised within the still life genre. The phrase, translated as a warning ,'remember that you will die', reminds the viewer of their own mortality and that all things pass.
My work communicates a similar warning about the futility of holding on to external memories 'Memento Oblivisci': 'remember that you will forget' .
Electricity: The Spark of Life
Electricity: The Spark of Life
Electricity: The Spark of Life
Electricity: The Spark of Life
Passage/s
Passage/s
Passage/s
Passage/s
Sketch of Memento proposal.
Alternative sketches and ideas based on Memory Palaces.
Lighting was an important consideration throughout the planning, curating and installation of Memento.
I was influenced by the use of light in both the Wellcome Collection and Do Ho Suh exhibitions.
The Wellcome Collection's exhibition Electricity: The Spark of Life used improvised light boxes made from strip lights behind industrial poly-carbonate sheeting. The lighting gave the exhibition a clinical atmosphere and worked well as a backdrop against some of the delicate electrical structures on display. I was hoping that the exhibition would have more relating to the electrical impulses within the brain, however, the primary focus was the history of electricity from the earliest evidence of static/lightning to the ubiquitous power source within homes and cities.
Do Ho Suh's work was either displayed in white rooms with plenty of natural light or framed within light boxes. The light was essential in order to show the embroidered details and accurately rendered objects.
I have experimented with both dark and light backdrops.
Although I found that dark backgrounds do allow the viewer to see all the detail within the containers, the effect was too harsh. The result looks staged, like a theatre set.
The experiments against a frosted illuminated background (similar to a light box) allowed all the details to be seen but also enhanced the translucency of the containers. The containers have a more ethereal, ghostly appearance. The lack of colour and sheer quality of the fabric allow the contents to be inspected and encourage the viewer to search the empty spaces, as if trying to retrieve a memory.
In my proposal I suggested that a light box would be the best way to ensure consistent white light at all times as a backdrop for my installation.
I also experimented with natural light as it was likely that my artwork would be suspended near or against a window. I liked the effect of the changing light conditions on the containers throughout the day. The way that the light could transform the appearance of the artwork relates to the memory undergoing change or flux. As the artwork is suspended it is important that it is never stable and reflects its changing environment. Clinical lighting or theatrical spotlights could make the artwork look staged or static.