you forgot us, 2022

12in x 18in x 12in
Denim with laser engravings, film negatives, poly-fil, cotton thread

Artist statement:
When visiting abandoned places to take photographs, I became fascinated with the idea of "lost memories" and the forgotten. I wanted to expand on the idea as a whole and actually use lost memories as my medium. I was inspired by a TikTok account @MuseumOfLostMemories, a user who devotes his time to touring nearby thrift shops in search of lost photo albums or family photos and preserving them. I wanted to take that concept and preserve the photos I would find at nearby thrift shops by making them textile and an actual part of my art. I wanted to represent the lost photographs of people I would find in a stylization resembling a negative photo, with the contrast almost inverted. I wanted to do this specifically to have a metaphorical play on the idea of a memory undeveloped. I also wanted to use the colors of film negatives and desaturated tones as an inspiration in my piece and use both to define my message. This piece depicts a broken window of a home I visited, with found imaged laser engraved on the sides. It is suspended from the ceiling with two chains and is made of two colors of transparent acrylic, both varying shades of a “sepia” tint that closely resembles a film negative.

View video documentation here.

Watch my process as I made this piece and its counterpart, You Forgot Me,  here.