DECONSTRUCTION OF A MEMORY SERIES

Where memories go? How do we keep them? Most of our memories relates to people and places but what about those emotional memories that are hidden in objects…?…

Years before my mother died, she gave an aluminum coffee pot to my cousin out of emotional attachment she had with him. It was one of those kitchen items that has been in my parents’ kitchen since before was born. I was attached to those items too- I liked that aluminum coffee pot. When my mother lost her memory to Alzheimer’s disease and her heart stopped working, I asked my cousin for the aluminum coffee pot- I wanted it. He did not know where the pot was or what has happened to it. He did not have any emotional memories attached to the pot as I did and still do.

This watercolor series, "Deconstruction of a Memory," explores the intangible emotional connections we forge with inanimate objects. Inspired by the loss of my mother and the subsequent disappearance of a cherished family heirloom – an aluminum coffee pot – the series delves into the complexities of memory, particularly how memories tied to objects persist even after the objects themselves are lost.

The work investigates the subjective nature of memory, highlighting how the same object can hold vastly different emotional significance for different individuals, as illustrated by the contrasting memories associated with the coffee pot between the artist and their cousin. The series uses watercolor to visually represent the fragmented and often elusive nature of memory itself.