Traces in the Landscape
Artist's Statement
Memory is a little understood function of the mind; scientists theorise that our experiences leave 'traces' in our brains in the form of physical alterations to cells (Neurobiology of Learning and Memory 1989). Some memories are transient, others have more longevity but, more often than not, they fade with time.
The landscape can be seen as a metaphor for human memory; with its memory constructed as a result of everything that happens within it. Human activity is constantly laying down new 'traces' – we produce more goods, more packaging, more buildings, more waste and so on. As time goes by, our landscape grows more cluttered with these physical 'traces'.
Our world is undergoing constant change, we live in a consumption-obsessed, throwaway society – buildings and objects are discarded, replaced, updated and renewed at such a rate that we don't have time to stop and think about our changing environment or the memories that are being swept aside. Time sprints ahead, dragging us behind it. But, sometimes there is a place or building that stands abandoned – somewhere that exists free from the relentless change that we are subjected to. These are not places where time stands still – time never stands still – but, in their abandoned state, they give us a rare window of opportunity to examine and contemplate their physical and symbolic existence, the relationship between the natural and man-made landscape, the ease with which we abandon & discard things and the way that the landscape, with its physical 'traces', mirrors our own function of memory.
In these places, we see the transience of memory; as the natural elements reclaim the man-made, in favour of the natural landscape through the processes of rust, rot and decay, along with unimpeded plant growth, mould, moss, algae and damp aided by the wind, rain and sunlight. Human intervention plays its part, perhaps in the form of vandalism. The buildings and objects are pieces in a puzzle that, if intact, might better tell the story of that place; but now are mere 'traces' in a fading memory. Like our own memories, parts will degenerate and then be forgotten. The real memories of these places left with the people who have now gone.
Through windows, whether shut, open or smashed, sunlight finds its way into deserted and decaying spaces bringing warmth and reassurance of ongoing life, whilst in the dank darkness, old memories linger, but only transiently - they are decaying and fading. These 'traces in the landscape' – the buildings, objects and the human memories that they represent will all, in time, be forgotten.
Memory is a little understood function of the mind; scientists theorise that our experiences leave 'traces' in our brains in the form of physical alterations to cells (Neurobiology of Learning and Memory 1989). Some memories are transient, others have more longevity but, more often than not, they fade with time.
The landscape can be seen as a metaphor for human memory; with its memory constructed as a result of everything that happens within it. Human activity is constantly laying down new 'traces' – we produce more goods, more packaging, more buildings, more waste and so on. As time goes by, our landscape grows more cluttered with these physical 'traces'.
Our world is undergoing constant change, we live in a consumption-obsessed, throwaway society – buildings and objects are discarded, replaced, updated and renewed at such a rate that we don't have time to stop and think about our changing environment or the memories that are being swept aside. Time sprints ahead, dragging us behind it. But, sometimes there is a place or building that stands abandoned – somewhere that exists free from the relentless change that we are subjected to. These are not places where time stands still – time never stands still – but, in their abandoned state, they give us a rare window of opportunity to examine and contemplate their physical and symbolic existence, the relationship between the natural and man-made landscape, the ease with which we abandon & discard things and the way that the landscape, with its physical 'traces', mirrors our own function of memory.
In these places, we see the transience of memory; as the natural elements reclaim the man-made, in favour of the natural landscape through the processes of rust, rot and decay, along with unimpeded plant growth, mould, moss, algae and damp aided by the wind, rain and sunlight. Human intervention plays its part, perhaps in the form of vandalism. The buildings and objects are pieces in a puzzle that, if intact, might better tell the story of that place; but now are mere 'traces' in a fading memory. Like our own memories, parts will degenerate and then be forgotten. The real memories of these places left with the people who have now gone.
Through windows, whether shut, open or smashed, sunlight finds its way into deserted and decaying spaces bringing warmth and reassurance of ongoing life, whilst in the dank darkness, old memories linger, but only transiently - they are decaying and fading. These 'traces in the landscape' – the buildings, objects and the human memories that they represent will all, in time, be forgotten.