Memory Thread

Captured and manipulated entirely in-camera, these "self portraits" push simple photography into surrealism and explore the interplay between identity and memory. In this project, hands represent one’s identity.  Memory is the red thread. Memory, by its very nature, helps form who we are, thus influencing and shaping our identity.  Some memories can distort our identity with superstitions and expectations. Other memories are truncated and we can only respond to the remaining fragments. Sometimes memories bring fears or nightmares.  

In turn, our identity contributes to how we see the world and thus, how we respond to it. This creates a feedback loop. The distorted identity will affect how we remember; a cycle further shaping who we are and how we see ourselves. 

Originally inspired by the dynamism of Futurists like Boccioni and the elongated, expressionistic hands of Schiele, this is an ongoing body of work, building upon previous iterations.  The techniques exhibited here are continuously being improved and refined. 

As stated, this project does not use digital means to manipulate and distort. Instead, more traditional techniques are enlisted. In a darkened room, light painting, choreography, and very long exposures are combined with some real-world trickery into a sort of photographic magic act. Other than basic color and exposure correction, dodging and burning, and cropping, the final image is as the camera saw it. In this case, the camera's memory rings true.