Memory (Pumpkin Seeds)
2016
Paper, ink, gouache, pumpkin seeds
Memory (Pumpkin Seeds) is a series of approximately 40 copies of copies of a red bag of pumpkin seeds from the US, manufactured by a company titled “Indian”, with their logo printed of an unidentified Native American in a headdress. This work was created to give form to the phenomenon of how memory works. When we recall an event, we aren’t accessing information about the original event - we’re recalling the last time we remembered it.* So, depending on how often you remember, the memory is a copy of a copy of a copy, losing accuracy along the way. In making the piece, I copied the front and back of the original package, and then copied the copy, and then copied that copy, all the time hiding the original and subsequent versions from my line of vision. The majority of the copying was done with my left hand rather than my dominant right. The subject matter, a healthy snack branded by a company’s perception of an indigenous person, evokes the loss of information, as well as loss of empathy. On the whole, Americans encounter more representations of native peoples through advertising and sports, rather than actual people or news accounts. There is much decay and inaccuracy there, distance from truth, much like the tricks memory plays.
* http://www.northwestern.edu/newscenter/stories/2012/09/your-memory-is-like-the-telephone-game.html
Aeriameter
Memory (Pumpkin Seeds)
Memory (Pumpkin Seeds)
Memory (Pumpkin Seeds)
Memory (Pumpkin Seeds)
Memory (Pumpkin Seeds)
