STATEMENT
THE SENTIMENT OF MEMORY
My work is about memory and how us humans process the faded memories of influential people from our past. People who helped shape us, yet disappeared from present consciousness. I’ve created an interactive installation that uses the triggers of scent and sound to resurrect those faded memories. In the process I destroy my own work in the pursuit of making an artistic statement.
Working in a Psychiatric hospital as the head mental health counselor exposed me to so many untold stories that needed to be told. These people were going to fade from the public consciousness and so I was compelled to preserve their stories through my art.
The process works in the following way, I paint a portrait of my subject on found wood. I then build a plexiglass container in which to house the wooden portrait. The plexiglass container is filled with seawater that will dissolve the portrait over a period of time transforming it into pulp.
Attached to one side of the plexiglass case is a glass box filled with a scent representative of the subject which could be anything from juicy fruit gum, to musty books, tobacco, or old leather from a motorcycle jacket.
Also attached to the plexiglass case is an iPod filled with music and recorded conversation that becomes the soundtrack to the subject’s life.
As in real life our visual memories of even the most important people from our past fade, my portraits also disappear. We are left with only the scents and sounds which serve as powerful memory triggers to remind us of that person’s existence and influence.
There are so many influential people from our past whether it’s a grade school teacher, a long term relationship or even a short, yet moving conversation with someone in passing on the "F" train that fades over time. As we go though our everyday lives we may randomly come across scents that trigger memories such chalk dust that reminds us of that third grade teacher who inspired us or a classic song that brings back memories of an old friend we haven’t thought of in ages. They may have disappeared from our present consciousness, but had some meaningful influence on us nevertheless. There's importance in never forgetting.
