SOPHIA CHRISTIE
MFA DEGREE SHOW 2017
MEMENTO
Memento was suspended from a web of threads in the MFA studio.
Over 100 memory pods hover in mid-air creating an aerial installation which spans the central window and is draped with natural light.
Despite the minimal colour and seemingly innocuous pods, loose threads give the artwork a greater presence within the room as they create a walkway through the installation.
When viewed from below, the random tangle of threads resemble a neural web, however the loose threads show that the structure is incomplete, broken, fragile and unstable.
The hanging threads enclose the viewer so that they themselves are contained. This interaction suggested a transformation from unconscious to conscious inspection of the pods. The viewer attempts to find the memory by searching the interior of the pod and therefore they act out the process of forgetting.
One consideration which I would address in future installations is the suitability of natural light and a window setting.
Although natural light is preferable to artificial light, the view outside the window is very distracting. Therefore, in future installations I would look to only use light boxes and to place the artwork in a darker setting similar to Do Ho Suh and the Wellcome Collection's exhibitions (below).
Wellcome Collection
Do Ho Suh