The Black and White Days
Science and philosophy have maintained for centuries that memory is truth. Current science is uncovering something different that changes the way we view memory. Some believe that memories are are made more false with each time they are recalled. Our brain embellishes and changes each memory every time we recall a moment. Scientists have even found ways to completely erase memories as we remember them. This idea of memory as a false truth is the basis for my current series “The Black and White Days.”
My father had me convinced until I was at least six years old that there was a time before color was invented when the whole world was black and white. He called that time "the black and white days" and would refer to it often. He would show my brother and I proof of the black and white days in the form of clothing, images, toys, and movies. When he told stories about his childhood it would be framed with “Back in the black and white days...” This created a visual memory for me. I created my own memories around these stories and as a grew older, they took on new meaning for me. I know thinking back to my own childhood I often misremember the past (most likely I have even misremembered this story). I think back to times spent at the beach with family or of walks with my grandpa and those moments start to get mixed up.
I see my images as embellished memories, versions of a memory recalled to the point where it starts to feel like a dream. While each image holds a meaning and story for me, the viewer is left to build within these photo amalgamations. Using my families' photo albums and stories from my childhood as a base for the image, I start to combine the images and create a sort of hybrid photo painting. Through this process I am exploring how photomontage mirrors painting in its indexicality. When it is taken, a photograph is based in reality. By altering that image through montage or infra red, I am creating a false index. There is something in the photo itself that lies to and conversely convinces a person of what is present in the image. This photographic "lie" is very much related to memory itself and the idea that no memory can ever be true.
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