My Tree.

This is an autobiographical piece of memory work. Its focus is a core memory and it considers what happens when the sign for that memory is removed, erased or undergoes loss. Memory is always being reshaped, reevaluated or reformed. In this instance the sign my tree was removed from its place and fragmented. In an effort to retain memory the fragments were mummified. This only maintained the fragmented structures as the object shrunk. These memory structures, whilst having undergone location separation, displacement, fragmentation and loss, have become the legitimate other, even though they are fundamentally different and unrecognisable from the original sign.

My Tree was exhibited as part of ‘Sanctuary: Home, Away and The Common Ground Part 2’ at the Brunei Gallery SOAS London. The body of work included a silent film of the tree being removed and two mummified fibreglass structures. It sat alongside Transitions 1/2/3/4 which also narrates memory and loss.

The process of making My Tree also became a short film produced by the filmmaker Michael Taylor (BigFaceArt) and exhibited as part of ‘Sanctuary: Home, Away and The common Ground Part 1’ at The National Museum Kenya as Michael’s submission.

Previous
Previous

Table Tops and Boundaries